Standard Dose CBD store provides "calm escape" in New York City
Arched openings, plants and lightwells are used to create a soothing atmosphere inside this New York shop for CBD-based products, designed by SR Projects and Tuna Architecture.
Located in the city's NoMad neighbourhood, Standard Dose is a three-storey shop selling a curated selection of products featuring CBD, also known as cannabidiol.
The substance is a cannabinoid derived from the cannabis plant. It has grown in popularity as a legal, lighter strain of cannabis that can be used to reduce stress and anxiety, and induce calming effects.
Standard Dose was founded by Anthony Saniger, who collaborated with SR Projects and Tuna Architecture to design the store. It also includes spaces for daily yoga and meditation classes, educational workshops, and spa services to complement the produce.
Prior to the renovation, the space featured rough finishes like exposed concrete floors and brickwork walls.
To induce a calming atmosphere, the team employed a pale palette with walls that are rendered in pale pink-plaster and large plank wood floors.
"This space is a physical manifestation of the Standard Dose brand," said Saniger.
"It's a calm escape built around guiding and educating consumers on ways to soothe, balance, and alleviate through CBD and plant-based wellness," he added.
Among the main areas is a tea bar topped with a grey concrete terrazzo counter where the shop "serves up custom blends for detox, immunity and healing".
The designers brought in additional materials such as glossy ceramic tiles that cover one wall. Shelves punctured in the wall provide shelves for products. Ingestible tinctures that can be added to food, period patches to reduce painful aches, and hemp honey are among the products for purchase.
An arched opening provides access from the tea room into an adjoining meditation room. Another vaulted design forms a nook for a gravel patch and a plant. Visitors are invited to meditate on large grey floor cushions.
Light is brought into the space via "a therapeutic skylight installation" by CoeLux.
The design mimics the "behaviour of the earth; atmosphere and is proven to support mental restorative processes, reduce stress, heighten a sense of comfort and emotional wellbeing, and enhance cognitive functions," according to Standard Dose.
The store also includes a rooftop where for hosting meditation and yoga classes, as well as educational workshops and community events focused on CBD and plant-based wellness.
Standard Dose is set to expand later this summer to include a spa treatment room on the lower level, where customers will be able to experience beauty services and body treatments using CBD skincare products.
CBD's popularity has grown in recent years as a way around tight marijuana legislation in a number of US states, particularly in New York.
Saniger founded Standard Dose to bring CBD products to the masses in a safe environment. To meet legal standards, every CBD product is made with industrial hemp that contains less than 0.3 per cent of cannaboid THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.
"We want to encourage an informed and honest dialogue about CBD and bring clarity by elevating the standard in a space that is still widely unregulated and misguided," he said.
Other areas in North America, such as Portland and Canada, have legalised marijuana in recent years, and a number of designers are tapping into the booming market. Smoking designs include donut-shaped pipes and accessories that look like vintage glassware.
Photography is by David Mitchell.