Barr + Wray has long been known for excellence in water leisure engineering. Design director
Graeme Banks explains how spa design also became a natural fit in the company’s portfolio
Barr + Wray’s spa design for the Grand Hyatt Colombo in Sri Lanka
You’ve been a leader in the water and aqua-leisure engineering business for almost 60 years. When did you add spa design to your wide range of services? We decided to add spa interior design to our services around three years ago, primarily due to clients requesting a one-stop shop when it comes to spa design. We’ve always offered the technical design aspects of the spa, so it seemed a logical step forward to offer our clients a full design package.
What’s your philosophy when it comes to spa design? To never stand still and always try to innovate. We constantly get asked to create something new and unique.
What in your opinion makes the perfect spa environment? Making sure that the spa has the perfect journey in relation to the surroundings, theme, culture and architecture. The spa also needs to have the major fundamentals including wet area, relaxation and treatment rooms.
What do you see as the biggest challenges of spa design, especially when you’re working in different cultures? Some of the biggest challenges we have are mainly due to where the spa is located in relation to its surroundings and architecture. This can have a big impact on the journey, views, access and movement, etc. Different cultures do pose their own unique challenges, but this can always be resolved by good design.
What can they expect from your spa design process? Our design process is unique in the fact that we offer both technical design and interior design thus enabling a more integrated package. With every client, we always engage, evaluate, design and deliver.
What projects are you currently working on? We’ve recently finished design projects in Hong Kong, the UK, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Qatar. 2018 is already looking busy for us with more projects within Europe, Middle East and Asia, so watch this space.
What excites you about the wellness market today, and do you have any predictions for the future of spa design? I think everyone is now more socially aware of their own wellbeing and because of this there’s so much variety and choice in the spa industry which can only be a good thing for us all.
For the future of spa design, I think we’ll see two things happening. Firstly, technology will play a bigger part to give our guests a truly immersive experience; and secondly, spas will become more family oriented and not just the domain of singles and couples. So expect also to see mini kids spas appearing in the future!
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Barr + Wray has long been known for excellence in water leisure engineering. Design director
Graeme Banks explains how spa design also became a natural fit in the company’s portfolio
Barr + Wray’s spa design for the Grand Hyatt Colombo in Sri Lanka
You’ve been a leader in the water and aqua-leisure engineering business for almost 60 years. When did you add spa design to your wide range of services? We decided to add spa interior design to our services around three years ago, primarily due to clients requesting a one-stop shop when it comes to spa design. We’ve always offered the technical design aspects of the spa, so it seemed a logical step forward to offer our clients a full design package.
What’s your philosophy when it comes to spa design? To never stand still and always try to innovate. We constantly get asked to create something new and unique.
What in your opinion makes the perfect spa environment? Making sure that the spa has the perfect journey in relation to the surroundings, theme, culture and architecture. The spa also needs to have the major fundamentals including wet area, relaxation and treatment rooms.
What do you see as the biggest challenges of spa design, especially when you’re working in different cultures? Some of the biggest challenges we have are mainly due to where the spa is located in relation to its surroundings and architecture. This can have a big impact on the journey, views, access and movement, etc. Different cultures do pose their own unique challenges, but this can always be resolved by good design.
What can they expect from your spa design process? Our design process is unique in the fact that we offer both technical design and interior design thus enabling a more integrated package. With every client, we always engage, evaluate, design and deliver.
What projects are you currently working on? We’ve recently finished design projects in Hong Kong, the UK, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Qatar. 2018 is already looking busy for us with more projects within Europe, Middle East and Asia, so watch this space.
What excites you about the wellness market today, and do you have any predictions for the future of spa design? I think everyone is now more socially aware of their own wellbeing and because of this there’s so much variety and choice in the spa industry which can only be a good thing for us all.
For the future of spa design, I think we’ll see two things happening. Firstly, technology will play a bigger part to give our guests a truly immersive experience; and secondly, spas will become more family oriented and not just the domain of singles and couples. So expect also to see mini kids spas appearing in the future!
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
TechnoAlpin Indoor TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. With the Indoor snow division, TechnoAlpin c [more...]
QubicaAMF UK QubicaAMF is the largest and most
innovative bowling equipment provider with
600 employees worldwi [more...]
instantprint We’re a Yorkshire-based online printer, founded
in 2009 by Adam Carnell and James Kinsella. [more...]
DJW David & Lynn Willrich started the Company
over thirty years ago, from the Audio Visual
Department [more...]
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
