In an era where the high street is facing decline and the convenience of online shopping distances us from forming physical connections, the role of stores as a space for community, wellness, and ritual becomes increasingly essential for the future of retail.
Through my project, Reimagining Retail: A Holistic Approach to Well-Being and Social Connection, I explored how experiential design can transform retail stores into holistic and immersive environments. Rooted in Canterbury’s Roman history of communal bathhouses and the brand being used for the retail store, Haeckels’ philosophy of natural wellness, this project reimagines a high street store as a multifunctional ‘bathhouse-inspired’ concept store that combines not only retail, but also community and wellness elements.
The project also integrates biomaterial experimentation, using tiles made from organic matter and natural pigments, into the interior design of the spaces, while also using colour and materiality as a sensory guide through the zones. Each spatial zone is designed around ritual and atmosphere, from product testing areas and wellness bars in the retail zone, to community workshops and rooftop gardens in the community zone, to meditation rooms and bathing pools in the wellness zone.
Interior Design 
Cecily Foster | Interior Design
