The Clinic

Premium healthcare and access to rehabilitation services are growing trends in the China healthcare market. Collectively the clinic team had spent many years working abroad and more recently had brought their skills to clinics in China. Together they wanted to create a new way of doing sports and injury rehabilitation in Shanghai. Not only would their approach to elite sports dictate their approach to managing all patients, they also wanted a look and feel to the clinic that offered an enhanced patient experience. Coming from atypical sterile hospitals with white walls, the client was clear about creating an oasis and sanctuary from a bustling Shanghai. The client wanted to create a revolution in the wellbeing market in China and for this project to work it was clear the space was going to need to be dramatically dissimilar to pave the way for a different way of managing patients back to health. Given the wide range of services from nutrition, to physiotherapy, TCM to Yoga and group classes there were many user groups and many functional components to incorporate. The design brief was ultimately to create a natural setting, which in itself was the first touch point in the healing process.

Experiencing the clinic from the patient’s perspective became core to the design philosophy of the project. Given the grey and bustle of Shanghai, the immediate choice was to bring the entire material selection back to natural soft elements to create a sense of intimacy, pause and relaxation. We wanted the patient to feel first and foremost like they were the center, arriving into a boutique lobby as a premium-returning guest and beyond that the feeling of uniqueness. Everything about the design was purposefully selected to make the space practical for treatment but ultimately ensure a patient-centric journey. Many of the elements in the reception area such as the soft leather couches, bookshelf, carpet, timber flooring, floor lamp and plants are staged to give the feeling you are entering your own private living room. The clockwise flow of the patients' journey from check-in to the treatment room to the exercise floor, enhances the feeling of serenity and calm.
The clinic has become the first choice provider for rehabilitation services in Shanghai, with a consistent flow of patients as well as different professionals wanting to work out of the space. From a design perspective it has been well acclaimed by various publications and honoured by Architectural Digest in the 2017 AD100 awards as a finalist for best commercial space and winner of the people’s choice award for best commercial space.