Wellness interiors are the most hostile planting environment in commercial design: 35 °C air, chlorine, salt, steam, low light and no tolerance for anything that looks tired. Most wellness planting is replaced within two years. It does not have to be.
Planting that survives heat, humidity, chlorine and salt
Species selection is the whole game. Pool halls, steam rooms, saunas, salt rooms and relaxation areas each have a different combination of temperature, humidity, air movement, light and water chemistry, and very few plants tolerate more than one of them.
We specify per zone, with the substrate, drainage, feeding and lighting that keep the planting alive — and we are honest about where a living plant is the wrong answer and the design should do something else instead.
Green, water and ambience as one design
- Pool halls and thermal areas — large-scale planting under glass
- Relaxation and quiet rooms — acoustic softening through planting
- Water features, walls and reflecting pools integrated with the greenery
- Green walls and vertical planting where floor space is unavailable
- Glasshouse and conservatory volumes for outdoor-feeling indoor space
- Lighting design that serves both the atmosphere and the plants
- Maintenance regimes handed over to the operator, in writing
Why the climate engineer has to meet the planting plan
In wellness projects the HVAC design is usually fixed before anyone thinks about greenery, and the planting is then asked to survive whatever air is left. Bringing the two together early is the single change that makes wellness planting last: air movement, condensation, light levels and irrigation get resolved as building services, not as decoration.
We work for world-leading wellness operators and the projects designed to relax, calm and heal people are among the most rewarding we take on — and among the most technically unforgiving.
Why most wellness planting is replaced within two years
Four failures account for nearly all of it. Light levels far below what the species needs, because the planting was placed for the architecture rather than for the daylight. Root volume sacrificed to a slim planter detail. Irrigation that relies on someone remembering. And species chosen from a mood board rather than from the actual air in that room.
None of the four is expensive to avoid at design stage, and all four are expensive to fix once the building is open and trading.
A green package for wellness projects
- Zone-by-zone survey of temperature, humidity, light and water chemistry
- Planting plan specified per zone, with honest alternatives where nothing will live
- Containers, substrate and root volume designed with the interior architect
- Irrigation and drainage integrated as building services
- Grow lighting that reads as atmosphere rather than as horticulture
- Glasshouse, conservatory or green wall structures where they add usable space
- Handover documentation and a maintenance regime for the operator
Frequently asked questions
Which plants work in a humid pool hall?
Selection depends on temperature, light, air movement and water chemistry in that specific hall. There is no single list — chlorine, salt and steam environments each rule out different species, which is why the specification is made per zone.
Can you design the green for a project that is already under construction?
Yes, though the earlier we meet the climate engineer the longer the planting lasts. Coming in late usually means working within HVAC decisions that limit what will survive.
Do you handle maintenance after handover?
We set the maintenance regime and hand it over documented; ongoing care can be arranged through our partner network.
Projects we have delivered
Bring us in before the HVAC is frozen
Send the zoning plan and the climate conditions per area. We will tell you what can live there and what cannot.