Super Buddha, SuperSure and the Wells Fargo Center: When Corporate Offices Borrow from Wellness Retreats
There is a particular sensation that arrives when stepping into an intentionally designed wellness retreat. Light falls softly. Colors seem to align with the body’s internal rhythm. Even the air feels paced. These elements work together to create a psychological exhale, a counterpoint to the momentum outside.
Some companies looking to support long-term mental resilience can borrow some cues from hospitality retreats. The mental states cultivated in environments that promote ease and calm would do well to make their way into boardrooms and innovation hubs.
Whether intentionally or not, SuperSure’s headquarters at the Wells Fargo Center takes this idea to heart. The collaboration with the artist Super Buddha has created a workplace that feels gently transportive. It is unmistakably professional, yet its ambience is more akin to health retreat design than traditional office space, encouraging employees to reset rather than push through fatigue.
In a yellow-painted column appears near expansive windows that overlook the city. The color is warm, but not loud; the motif of a tree trunk introduces a sense of rootedness. It gives the impression of standing near a terrace in a boutique resort, where grounding visuals accompany open views. The combination of sky, sunlight, and symbolic form creates a small moment of pause before the day accelerates.
Further inside, a corridor of similarly painted columns that feel more like the walkway of a coastal sanctuary than a corporate hallway. The repetition of color and organic shapes, paired with the play of natural light, creates a subtle meditative rhythm. This is the architectural equivalent of breathing more slowly without realizing it.
This project suggests that the next evolution of workplace design may not focus on amenities or square footage, but on the qualities associated with luxury hospitality: serenity, intention, and sensory coherence. If the modern worker’s time is increasingly fragmented, offices like this offer something rare, a built form of restoration accessible throughout the workday.
