Karen Stonely, artist, designer and the Co-Founder of SPAN Architecture, creates wellness and wellbeing experiences in all landscapes – from a retreat in Maine to a high-rise 'oasis' that is exciting, exuberant and 'something fresh and future-thinking for a hotel in the heart of the city that never sleeps'.

This episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London and hosted by Hamish Kilburn, Editor, Hotel Designs, explores unconventional materiality, evoking unconventional sense of place and calling out 'wellwashing'. To do this, Kilburn understand's Stonely's unique approach to designing projects. "We're looking at getting the most out of a place and an experience," Stonely explains. "We want our design work to be a gift of that place that heightens your experience."

One project, in particular, that cleverly captures a new and perhaps surprising meaning of wellness in its location, Times Square in Manhattan, is Hyatt Centric Times Square; a project that is best described as 'nature revealed in neon'.

The other case study explored in the episode is August Moon, a completely different hospitality experience, in contrast, that is expressed as a 'secret escape from the city'; a private waterfront retreat that overlooks Maine’s Western Bay. Named by her after the Chinese mid-autumn harvest festival, the two original structures – a separate glass teahouse and a small cottage with pool – were designed by the architect, Robert Patterson in the 1960s.

Other episodes in the archive that touch on wellness in design include Kilburn's interviews with Ivaylo Lefterov, Holly Hallam, Jo Littlefair, Marie Soliman and Rachel Hoolahan.

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