NOX Darkness Retreat
1
New York
2025
SCOPE : Create a wellness retreat that drowns out city life...
The darkness retreat is a unique spiritual sanctuary where guests can immerse themselves in complete darkness within their own private suites. Designed to eliminate visual distractions, the retreat encourages deep meditation and self-reflection, allowing participants to direct their energy inward. As guests stay for several days to a week, they often experience profound mental shifts, including vivid hallucinations linked to the release of DMT in the brain due to being in complete darkness for a prolonged amount of time.
Inspired by the calming essence of nighttime nature, the retreat’s design focuses on grounding and healing, utilizing low lighting, natural materials, and tactile experiences. Key facilities include a lobby and reception area, a spa with a meditation cave for those new to darkness, and a Zen garden for relaxation. The eighth floor features minimal furnishings to reduce distractions, promoting a serene atmosphere, while a rooftop space ensures gradual exposure to light, allowing guests to reconnect with the outside world in a calm and mindful manner.
Core Values
Healing
Reflection
Solitude
Self-Discovery
Hypnotic
Floor Plan
Meditation Room
Zen Garden
Restaurant
Restaurant Entrance
Main Entrance
Rendered Using Midjourney and Photoshop
Meditation Cave
The meditation cave features sand poured over a heated floor system, giving the user the experience of warm sand as felt on a beach.
The space is able to fully seal from any light , also giving it the element of complete darkness, comperable to the darknes reatreat suites. Guests have the option of visiting the meditation cave before committing to a full length retreat at NOX .
Restaurant
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
In designing the NOX restaurant, I considered the symbolism of grass, reflecting themes of nourishment and healing. To embody this, I suspended a variety of dried grass from the ceiling, creating a natural and calming focal point.
The design explores how the grass can interact with and diffuse the lighting, casting subtle shadows and soft illumination throughout the space.
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
Rooftop
For the rooftop experience, I carefully considered how to facilitate an authentic and gentle reintroduction to light. The design involves guiding guests to the rooftop, most likely blindfolded. Once the blindfold is removed, they would be gradually introduced to the city's horizon as they walked up the steps, fostering a sense of vulnerability and discovery.
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
Workplace
2024
2
New York
SCOPE : Create an office space with an emphasis on accessibility for those with Cerebral Palsy...
For our Studio 2 class, we were instructed to design an office space with a concentration on accessibility of a disability of our choosing. I chose to design an office for those suffering from Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, and/or posture. Many also have related conditions such as seizures; problems with vision, hearing, and speech. Some things I considered when designing the space to be inclusive were…
• Rounded edges to avoid hitting corners
• Sliding or automatic doors (if not, lever handles on doors)
• Sturdy/heavy furniture that offers support
• Cushioned surfaces
• High-friction floors
• Wider halls
• Lower cabinets.
Inspo/ Moodboard
When thinking of possible concepts, I took inspiration from the model of exoskeletons in aiding those with cerebral palsy. The forms reminded me of spider webs. It also helped me to see the strength within delicate people such as those with Cerebral Palsy. In terms of textures, I took inspiration from wings we see in the insect world, and came upon a close up photo of a butterfly’s wings. Its soft, skin like finish inspired me to include similar materials such as velvet and silk, wrapping back around to webs.
Floor plan
Work Space
Kitchen/Common Area
Meeting Room
Breakroom
Restroom
Incubator
For my floor plan, I thought deeply about where the users of the space would be entering from, what their first view would be, and how they would maneuver through the space. Having soft, rounded corners was important to me—not just for aesthetic purposes—but to allow wheelchair users and other assistive transport equipment to move freely through the space without worrying about encountering harsh corners or needing to make sharp turns.
One of the requirements for the space was also to include an incubator, which inspired me to expand on an ADA restroom to include a shower that would be shared between the two offices. It may seem unnecessary to have such a luxury in an office, but this level of accommodation for physically impaired individuals creates a great sense of morale in the workplace. Many people with physical disabilities struggle with daily tasks that others might not think twice about, therefore having a fully accessible shower and restroom can alleviate a lot of stress from their week, allowing them to focus more freely on their jobs and personal lives.
Kitchen/ common area
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray
Work Space
My goal for the office workspace was to create enough open space between heavy large furniture to maneuver through with ease while still providing support if needed. I studied the form of spider webs—the curves, lines, and angles—and implemented them in my design, taking note of how parallel and consistent the shapes were while still having round, smooth edges.
Because of the huge demand for this project and its level of inclusivity, I thought this would be an appropriate opportunity for custom furniture. I designed these tables, drawing aesthetic principles from spider webs while maintaining a sturdy, heavy frame. The material choice can be flexible, though structurally must be bottom heavy enough to support leaning bodies from any and all sides.
Table Dimensions:
Length: 30’1”
Width: 10’10”
Height: 2’6”
Vitra Panton Chair
Rendered Using Rhino3D and V-Ray