Set in the year 2071, this speculative, immersive spa occupies approximately 3,000ft2 of the third floor of the Museum of the Future, Dubai. Named ALWAHA (which means “oasis” in Arabic) this unique environment welcomes guests into a space designed to reconnect humanity to its body and spirit through a series of interactive experiences imagined as antidote to the destructive habits of future, digital life. To compete against the convenience and adaptability of the digital, the Spa is designed to engage the senses and provide physical experiences that remind us of the power, beauty and infinite richness of our bodies.
Inspired by the healing mind-body practices in the Arab world, powered by cutting edge technology, and grounded in proven science, the treatments at ALWAHA inspire a new relationship to the human senses as a way of positively reconnecting guests to their bodies, to each other and to their planet. This approach looks beyond the individual and instead imagines the future of well-being as a physical, social and spiritual ecology, where “all change comes from within.”
The narrative of this immersive experience is in stark contrast to traditional, futurist narratives centered around speed, efficiency and optimization. ALWAHA instead puts forward an inclusive vision of the future, transformed through the female gaze, where care, connection and spirit heal humanity.
Through this lens, the interactive treatment therapies include:
MOVE
“Our bodies are in need of restoration from the rigors of sedentary future life. In this central feature visitors experience curative properties of walking meditation and water therapy, remixed through immersive technology. Using generative, real-time, projection mapped visuals, guests’ movements affect the visual pattern beneath their feet, creating the illusion of moving through an ocean of sand.”
FEEL
“A treatment for restoring sensitivity and feeling to the hand and mind. Digital technology fosters clicking, typing, swiping that greatly reduces feeling in our digits, and, in consequence, decreases the regions of the brain involved in the elements of sensitivity: awareness, empathy, and self-other processing. In this treatment, we used ultrasonic haptic technology to create the first mid-air tactile meditation that re-develops human sensitivity by guiding guests through re-feeling different subtle, invisible sensations under their hands.”
GROUND
“As the built environment develops with more digital integration in the future, electromagnetic fields increase, raising stress levels. GROUND Therapy restores the human body’s elemental vibration by inviting guests to stand between two large-scale gongs that are invisibly excited through healing sub-frequencies that restore balance and promote grounding.”
CONNECT
“To counteract the alienating effects of technology, we need new rituals to experience togetherness and connection. CONNECT therapy is designed to relieve feelings of loneliness and alienation by channeling the healing properties of our collective voice. Guests are invited to sit down, hum, and use their voices to trigger a generative starscape that unlocks the healing energy of togetherness through a choreography of sound, light and smell.”
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ALWAHA was developed over 18 months, through digital/physical hybrid working sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a global team spread across four international timezones.
