Euphoria Retreat Spa Lighting Design

Anna Sbokou and Matina Magklara's Euphoria Retreat Spa Lighting Design operates as a carefully encoded spatial narrative drawing upon archetypal symbolism of sanctuary, celestial order, and transformative passage. The three hemispherical ceiling fixtures may evoke celestial bodies, their bisected dark and golden halves suggesting the eternal dance between shadow and illumination, night and day, the unknown and the revealed. The triadic arrangement carries numerological resonance across numerous cultural traditions, often associated with completeness, divine presence, and dynamic equilibrium. The graduated concentric bands encircling the dome create mandala-like geometry, traditionally symbolic of cosmic wholeness and the journey from outer manifestation toward inner center. The chromatic opposition between cool blue-gray walls and warm golden apertures orchestrates a thermal symbolism that may reference the alchemical marriage of opposing forces, the integration of lunar and solar principles that numerous wisdom traditions identify with psychological and spiritual wholeness. The three arched niches function as threshold symbols, their semicircular profiles evoking the ancient arch's association with passage, triumph, and transformation. The reflective pool introduces the potent symbolism of water as purification, reflection, and the unconscious realm, its mirror surface doubling the visible world and suggesting realms below corresponding to realms above. The perfect bilateral symmetry throughout the composition reinforces associations with sacred geometry, cosmic order, and the human impulse to create spaces that mirror perceived divine perfection. The descent from celestial dome through transitional wall to terrestrial water may trace an axis mundi, connecting upper, middle, and lower realms within a unified spatial experience that invites contemplation of the relationship between macrocosm and microcosm, outer architecture and inner sanctuary.

The Spa at the Euphoria Retreat, is located in Mystra. It is a four-story building, of 3.000 m2, that is carved into the base of a mountain. The lighting for each space was considered as a unique piece, contributing to the crescendo of the ultimate relaxation experience. As daylight would vary substantially from one space to another, custom luminaires were designed to imitate daylight conditions, thus harmonizing the transitions through spaces and enhancing the immersive architecture.