Ascend
Wellness centre - Graduate Project
Sydney City
2026
Ascend explores the relationship between wellbeing and the built environment, transforming everyday urban living into an opportunity for rest, reflection and reconnection. A sanctuary designed to restore balance through space, sensory experience and nature.
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An escape within
Ascend is an elevated sanctuary that explores the possibility of finding escape without leaving the city. The project responds to the fast-paced, demanding and overstimulating nature of everyday life by creating an environment that encourages people to pause, restore and reconnect.
Located within the upper levels of a skyscraper, Ascend transforms a typically commercial setting into a retreat centred around wellbeing, reflection and connection. The interior guides users through a continuous journey, moving from stimulation towards stillness and restoration before returning them to the outside world. Spatial planning, materiality, lighting, sound, texture, temperature and natural elements work together to shape each stage of this sensory transition.
Ascend is not about escaping the city, it is about creating a place to escape within it.