asK tHE ExPErt
roBErt d. HENry
By KElly HEitz
a spa’s design can make or break the customer experience.
can you imagine relaxing into your treatment with the sound of
honking horns right out the window? or what about calming
your anxiety in a room with harsh colors and imaging? that
sounds awful doesn’t it?
roBErt HENry agrees, which is why he has spent the last
20 years creating a architectural design process that is mindful
of the guest experience and takes the spa’s role as caregiver
seriously. As principal of his own architecture firm, Robert D.
Henry Architects, in New york city, Henry has been commis-
sioned to create amazing spa and wellness experiences at some
of the top spas in the country. His design approach is subtle, yet
beautiful and is always an immersive experience.
In this month’s Ask the Expert, we dive head-first into Henry’s
creative brain, asking about his unique design process and
where his innovative ideas stem from.
Pulse: What first sparked your love of architecture,
specifically designing for the spa environment?
Henry: I grew up in Chicago and a high school English teacher
Mrs. Chaney brought me on a walking tour of Frank Lloyd
Wright’s architecture. I was smitten, it was transformative and
from that point on, I knew I wanted to become an architect.
The Spa focus emerged in graduate school, where my class-
mates thought I was weird when I began to describe my design
projects as an immersive experience for visitors and wanted to
create an experiential journey for the senses where everything
you touched, felt, heard, tasted and even smelled reinforced
the experience.
P: How can a spa’s design ensure an unforgettable
experience for the client?
H: By removing clients from their work-a-day world and design
these other-worldly environments that change up their whole
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bio-system providing calm and clarity. We design a whole
cool-down and heat-up energy experience for guests through
our spatial design.
P: What do you hope ISPA Conference & Expo guests
gained from your session?
H: A series of transformative tools that can be brought to their
spa and wellness facility; whether it be a minor tune-up of the
front-desk or planning principals for a ground-up design.
P: Please explain the fundamentals of evidence-based
design.
H: It’s a term borrowed from the medical world where hard
science is used to measure and evaluate qualitative results. We
want a design that makes a difference. For example, a room
with a view of nature provides a hospital patient with a
nurturing environmental response where they request pain