A Space for Critical
Design Thinking
Spa Sybarite
Joshua Dawson

On the one hand, wellness: a buzzword, a lifestyle, and a multi-million dollar industry targeted as luxury for the wealthiest in our society. On the other, climate change: “the biggest global health threat to the 21st century”. In the middle, design and the agency of architecture. What would happen if capitalism brought these three elements together? Disguised as a commercial ad, Spa Sybarite is a film that imagines this eerie yet possible scenario. While establishing a dialogue with Beatriz Colomina’s X-Ray Architecture and Glenn Albrecht neologisms, designer and filmmaker Joshua Dawson raises questions about access to healthcare, sustainability in design, our contemporary obsession with biometric data and the future of architecture as un-built design.