Modern Age: Illuminating a New Era of Healthcare with a Multi-Sensory Approach to Wellness

By Randy Reid

Annual check-ups with healthcare providers often evoke images of dull waiting rooms and sterile examination rooms. However, Modern Age, a wellness studio in NYC, is changing the game by creating a multi-sensory experience. The studio's founder, Melissa Eamer, wanted to take control of the way people age, and part of that was impacted by how people feel during their healthcare experiences. To accomplish this goal, Eamer brought on Madelynn Ringo, Head of Studio Design and Founder of Ringo Studio, and Kirsten Harris, Senior Manager of Construction of Modern Age, to disrupt the status quo of the typical doctor's visit.

Ringo wanted to focus on the customer experience from a sensory approach, considering sound, color, lighting, and smell. The lighting was a crucial element in defining the brand atmosphere. Ringo brought on Eileen Pierce from Pierce Lighting Studio, located in Chelsea, New York City, who has extensive experience as an architectural lighting designer for immersive spaces, to explore design possibilities.

Pierce has years of collaboration with Ringo on experiential retail environments. Eileen has a reputation for supporting unique designs through extensive research, tailoring the needs of the project to and honing the design criteria for innovative lighting solutions.

Inspired by the legendary artist James Turrell, Pierce's approach for the treatment suite deep regress ceiling cove takes advantage of the Flagship’s high ceilings. She stated, "We created volumes of light with different color spectrums and highlight architectural textures to reinforce the visual experience."

Turrell is known for his work with light, and his installations often create immersive and transformative experiences for viewers. Pierce's design is similarly ambitious, and it promises to create a unique and memorable space for visitors.

The multi-layer lighting design employs LED light sources throughout, including ceiling and wall coves, recessed and pendant downlights, wall sconces for circulation and tasks, and integrated millwork for retail display. The varying light distributions support the serene spatial composition.

Arancia Lighting, a Canadian company, was specified for the lounge and circulation omnidirectional pendant fixtures echoing the curving shapes of the entryway. The fixtures are 3000K, which is a warm, inviting color temperature. The pendants create a new ceiling datum, avoiding drawing attention to the unfinished ceilings above. The brightness of the fixtures creates a sense of passage and delight with the shimmering tiled columns.

When the client arrives, the photo booth serves as the initial assessment. Pierce’s design calls for a 36” diameter RGBW Lumenwerx fixture in the booth to enhance facial features. The client is then taken to the treatment suite, where lighting has different scenes. The Welcome scene is warm and inviting, with moderate light levels. The Examination scene is brighter, with 100 footcandles of vertical light. The Meditation scene, with color tuning features, is designed to be relaxing.

For the 3-inch adjustable downlights within the treatment suites, Pierce Lighting Studio specified 3G Lighting, another Canadian company. These fixtures, also 3000K, have a high CRI and lumen output.

For controls, Pierce Lighting Studio specified Casambi, a fully wireless lighting control system, for its costeffectiveness and maximum flexibility.

Casambi's BLE mesh network offered customization, allowing design for scenes that would adjust and dim as required by operations. Color control is a native feature of Casambi's control software, eliminating the need for bulky DMX lighting systems. The Casambi app made programming the system simple, enabling hypercustomized experiences at a scalable level. Harris, the construction manager of the Flagship location familiar with the setup, was able to begin commissioning on the second Upper East Side location before the official programming was scheduled.

The design team fine-tuned the hierarchy and presets of how the lights would adjust, dim, and change colors, from the studio lounge to the treatment and consultation suites. The lighting control system was programmed and easy to manage for varying light intensities, while supporting Modern Age operations. With Casambi's built-in astronomical clock, preset scenes could be executed manually or automatically, conserving energy. Casambi's technology supported the design team’s objective to streamline the controls across all studio locations.

The collaboration between Modern Age and Pierce Lighting Studio, with support of the lighting and controls manufacturers, is a true testament to the power of lighting design’s positive influence for a unique wellness transformative experience. ■

Fixture Schedule

Photobooth: Lumenwerx

Downlights: 3G Lighting

Pendant Mount: Arancia Lighting

Wall Sconces: Sonneman

Wall Coves: Lumenwerx

Suite Task light: RBW

Controls: Casambi

Electrical Distributor: LPA Lighting