The unveiling of The Wavess™ Origin Pool, at Damu, The Mandrake Hotel’s groundbreaking wellness sanctuary, was hailed by The Times and Forbes as a wellness experience like nothing else. Creating this intimate aquatic retreat, seamless to the eye, and alive to the senses, to offer a multisensory rebirth, posed unique design challenges.
The Wavess™ Origin Pool created from thermoformed and engineered panels of Corian® Solid Surface Credit: Kameleon Visual
For Arny B. Arnold, the pioneering CEO, founder and designer behind Wavess™ Wellness innovations, the challenge was to find a material that could perfectly balance durability, sensory subtlety, and precision. Corian® Solid Surface offered unmatched tactile, optical, and chemical qualities, allowing the pool with signature zero gravity and Waterhaptics™ treatment to become the living instrument of wellness he imagined.
Rami Fustok, founder and owner of The Mandrake Hotel, envisioned Damu Spa as a transformative sanctuary blending ancient wisdom with cutting edge innovation.
A Design Challenge of Precision and Emotion
Arnold’s concept for The Wavess™ Origin Pool was rooted in his sensorial sustainability approach, a philosophy that redefines architecture as an interface for human senses rather than mere aesthetics. The design demanded more than waterproofing or aesthetics; it required a material capable of forming fluid organic curves, maintaining dimensional stability even underwater, sustaining high levels of Epsom salts and becoming light and sound sources and immersive projection surfaces, all at once. Corian® met each challenge.
“The Wavess™ Origin Pool couldn’t have existed with traditional materials,” says Arnold. “We needed a luminous surface that is soft and warm to the skin, safe, durable and sustainable, to change instantly from a glowing light sculpture to a beautifully diffuse projection surface, erasing its own physical boundaries. Corian® became that sensory membrane for the experience.”
Corian® Solid Surface was used to create a unique sensory experience. Credit: Wavess Wellness Ltd
The Material Behind the Experience
Engineered by DuPont, Corian® with its non-porous microstructure and chemical resistance allow it to remain immaculate in perpetually wet and saline-rich atmospheres. Its possibility of soft matte finish ensures naturally safe grip.
Each thermoformed and engineered panel was joined seamlessly through DuPont’s bonding methods, creating a monolithic pool space, visually indistinguishable from a single sculpted piece.
Its translucent light-diffusing property transformed every segment of the room surfaces into an invisible luminaire, enabling Wavess’ invisible backlighting system to deliver ever-shifting gradients of colour and smooth glowing lines, expressing the emotional language of the Wavess™ experience.
The union of light, spatial sound, immersive projections, Waterhaptics™ and touch, transforms the pool into a living architecture that resonates emotionally with its occupants.
Corian® Solid Surface is translucent and was backlit to create a relaxing ambience. Credit: Wavess Wellness Ltd
The Making of Damu Spa’s Masterpiece
Fabrication was entrusted to Tim Matthews at Counter Production, specialists in high-precision solid surface manufacturing, whose technical mastery in all aspects of Corian® fabrication allowed the result to meet the extreme tolerances demanded by Arnold’s design. Their expertise ensured that every curve and contour maintained its purity but also its functionality and structural requirements.
CREDITS:
Design By: Arny B. Arnold - Wavess™ Wellness Ltd
Corian® Fabricator: Counter Production Ltd
Corian® Distributor: CD(UK) Ltd
