Healthcare
Toronto, Canada | Completed 2024

General Contractor: Ripple Projects
Photographer: Doublespace Photography

AZ Award Finalist - Health & Wellness, 2025
Special Mention, Architizer A+ Awards - Spa & Wellness, 2025
Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Award Winner - Office, 2024

Boutique eye care provider Lumea’s newest location is a bold, self-assured statement of the brand’s position in the crowded healthcare market. Located in The Well—itself an ambitious urban project of immense scale and vision—the space questions established perceptions of clinical environments and creates a destination for immersive, experience-based treatments and therapies. Positioned between clinical precision and sensory experience, the design examines the technical enhancement of nature inherent to the procedures the clinic specializes in.

The layout of the space upends conventional clinic formats, foregrounding the technical expertise and cutting-edge equipment and processes that set the client experience apart. Where visitors would typically enter into a lobby and reception area that separates and distances them from the treatment procedures that occur beyond, the relationship at Lumea is inverted. At the front of the space, the primary procedure room—anchored by its refractive laser equipment—is set against the curtain wall façade facing the pedestrian concourse and screened behind a sweeping glass block wall.  Clients are greeted in a smaller reception area and ushered through an undulating corridor to a discreet lounge beyond, where a flanking exposure washes the space with natural light.

The privacy of the interior lounge is central to the client experience. Visual and acoustic separation from the front of house allows for meditation, contemplation, and recovery before and after a procedure. This passive, environmental treatment is a key tenet of Lumea’s approach to patient care and recovery.

Located on the third floor of the open-air atrium that forms the spine of The Well, the curves and glass block take cues from the surrounding architecture while referencing the optical nature of the business. The unit opens to a pedestrian concourse, criss-crossed by bridges, tucked underneath the undulating glass roof that shields visitors from the elements while maintaining an unconditioned, exterior climate. The front window is simultaneously a traditional storefront and an opportunity for brand identification. The glass block, in two variations of transparency, yields a refracted glimpse of the optical equipment beyond, with interior curtains available for complete privacy during procedures. Lighting transforms the space from daylight to dusk as a linear wash illuminates the glass volume from within, shifting the perception of space over time.

The cold, impervious glass and concrete surfaces are balanced with warm wood tones and plants that introduce organic, natural elements to the client journey. The pathway from reception to lounge passes through a zone of compression framed by wooden slats and an interior garden before the space expands in a light-filled, loft-like volume. Colourful glass Lambert & Fils Sainte pendants define a seating area with furniture that evokes a comforting embrace, with high backs and oversized, upholstered curves. Neutral-toned curtains can divide the flexible space to separate client- and staff-centred zones when desired. Together with an acoustic felt ceiling system, the space is a quiet retreat from the pedestrian thoroughfares of the “city within a city.” Visitors, at every stage of the client journey, are meant to feel welcomed, supported, and have their privacy protected in a comfortable, peaceful environment.

Just as The Well demonstrates the continued strength of urban retail environments, Lumea reflects a shift toward more immersive, experience-driven models of healthcare.