Sanctum

M1 . December 2024

Sanctum is a place where beauty and science meet. It redefines the conventional cosmetics retail experience by placing individuality before appearance.

Rather than concealing perceived imperfections, the brand promotes makeup as an extension of one’s beauty, enhancing what already exists instead of transforming it.

Year: December 2024
Level: Master 1
Discipline: Retail interior & brand concept
Programme: Store, compatibility clinic, customization lab

Brand identity and packaging

Formulated exclusively from naturally derived ingredients such as botanical extracts, fruit pigments, mineral powders, spices, oils, and plant-based compounds, every product celebrates simplicity, transparency, and authenticity.

At the heart of the experience is a non-invasive Ingredient Compatibility Assessment, supervised by a dermatologist, combining a skin analysis, consultation, and standardized patch testing to identify ingredients best suited for the client’s skin. Based on their results, they are guided through the formulation of bespoke cosmetic products using carefully selected natural ingredients.

Sanctum shopfront in a mall: the white, softly lit clinic on the left and the warm copper retail space on the right under the Sanctum sign — Storefront

Floor plan of Sanctum showing the intolerance test clinic, product customization zone, makeup testing island, product displays, cashier and back of house — Plan

Architectural guidelines

To preserve Sanctum’s identity across every location, the project establishes a series of architectural guidelines that define both its spatial organization and material language. These principles can be consistently reinterpreted, regardless of scale or location.

01 — Spatial hierarchy

Retail experience 2/3 of the area
Fluid shapes, organic forms, curves

Organic product display
Testing island
Cashier
Storage wall, visible to clients
Back of house: staff area and technical zones

Laboratory zone 1/3 of the area
Linear shapes, straight lines, rounded edges

Ingredient Compatibility Assessment clinic
Product customization island

Hand sketches testing three shop footprints, each divided two-thirds retail and one-third laboratory with the back of house behind

02 — Material identity

Retail experience 2/3

Monochromatic deep earthy tones that reinforce the brand’s connection to nature and create a deliberate contrast with the laboratory, the scientific approach of Sanctum.

Laboratory zone 1/3

Monochromatic white palette with varying textures and finishes, expressing purity, precision, and scientific transparency.

Two material boards: rammed earth, clay and wood veneers in deep reds beside Corian, microcement paint and quartz in white

Section AA through the clinic area showing the consultation counter, shelving and suspended ceiling — Clinic area · section AA

Section CC through the clinic area showing the stepped display shelves washed with light — Clinic area · section CC

Render of the all-white laboratory: a sculpted counter beneath a glowing oval ceiling recess

Render looking from the dark earthy retail floor into the bright white clinic, with a backlit botanical panel at the threshold

Render of the retail space: a continuous ribbed copper wall undulating around the room

Long interior elevation of the retail wall with suspended and floor-standing display volumes — Retail elevation

Elevation of the storage wall with its oval window onto product shelves and the Sanctum sign — Storage wall elevation

Exploded axonometric of the curved wall: ribbed copper cladding panels over a framed substructure — Curved wall build-up