An oval skylight informs a new, softly curving atrium at the studio’s centre, surrounded by treatment rooms. Throughout, organic materials like light woods, stones, and ceramics complement a colour scheme of cypress green, copper, terra cotta, and peach, all chosen for their calming effects.
Acupuncturist and integrative health clinician Lisa Sumption, founder of MOXI, approached FTA to update and reorganise the previously open-format space to accommodate a reception area, six treatment rooms, offices, bathrooms, herb dispensary, and pantry. The new plan uses existing apertures to arrange programs within the rectangular layout.
At the street-facing front, an entry door opens into a large, flexible reception area lined with four arched windows that fill the room with light and reveal views up Broadway. To maximise space and take advantage of the natural light, this area doubles as a site for gatherings and classes.
A low-slung custom bench crafted from white oak slats and copper detailing curves along two walls. Floating above, handmade ceramic pendants by Elsa Foulon, sourced from France, and orb sconces, sourced from Greece, add warm layers of light. Other elements, like terrazzo side tables and plush seating in boucle and velvet, can be moved to make way for large classes and gatherings. Walls are lime-washed in a cypress green, with wainscotting painted in a darker shade of the same hue. Throughout, saturated passages of colour were inspired by the atmospheric work and colour theory of artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, and James Turrell.
Colour is powerful and we wanted to be strategic with its use. The colour green became the palette foundation, chosen for its ability to heal and create balance for your mind and body. A darker version of the green lime wash in the barrel vaulted halls was utilised to create intimacy for the patron—a transition before heading into treatment.
A long, wide corridor extends from the reception via an archway that mirrors the front windows. Painted deep green, the colour shift, from light to more saturated, indicates a movement toward more intimate spaces. Individual treatment rooms extend from either side of the hall.
The corridor remains washed in natural light thanks to the skylight above that rises through its middle, serving as the nucleus of the space, from which all rooms radiate. Taking a cue from the skylight’s rounded form, the design team also softened the hallway’s corners and, in turn, the space’s overall geometry.
Treatment rooms use soft, immersive washes of colour to indicate the program. Each receives a different gradient wallpaper that aids wayfinding, personalised experience, and points to personal transformation.
At the corridor’s rear, a second archway opens into a back-of-house zone, where FTA inserted an office, herb dispensary, staff pantry, and bath. The existing kitchen was renovated with cabinets in a soft, desaturated green and a hexagon tile backsplash whose colour evokes sea mist.