Wellness Sanctuary by Circ Studio Has Floors That Flow Like the Sea

Capturing the quiet rhythm of movement and pause, Circ Studio’s Cloud in Sharjah is a pilates and yoga studio combined with a café. Conceived as a space where architecture and atmosphere align, it explores how lightness, material, and adaptability can create calm without resorting to uniformity.

The brief called for a “neutral” interior, which Circ’s founder Sara Bokr reimagined through texture and tone rather than the absence of colour. “Their version of neutral was beige everywhere. Our version of neutral has colour, texture, and mood,” she says, resulting in a space that feels soft, expressive, and natural.

Boundaries dissolve through fabric rather than walls. Curtains define zones that can expand or contract as needed, allowing the space to shift with its users. “Walls felt overrated,” Bokr tells SceneHome. “Curtains do the job, open when you need privacy, closed when you don’t. It keeps the space breathable, flexible, and way less intimidating.” This fluidity separates yet connects two experiences, a bright, weightless studio for movement and a warm, grounded café for gathering.

Materiality anchors this lightness. The café counter is wrapped in handmade Tiffany Zellige tiles from Morocco, each one slightly irregular and alive with reflection. Underfoot, textured orange tiles cover the raised platform, catching sunlight in ways that make the floor appear to ripple. “Since the space has a full 360 sea view, we wanted the floor to behave like the sea inside too,” Bokr explains. The same tiles climb a circular column, turning a structural necessity into a sculptural gesture.

The studio’s four columns, once obstacles, became part of its logic, each absorbed into a distinct function. One shapes a built-in seat, another merges into the reception counter, while a third frames a vanity in the changing area. Surfaces of purple-tinted bird’s-eye maple and burlwood veneer lend warmth and depth to the furniture and counters. Even the curtains form their own layered system, linen for the movement rooms, blue silk in the café, and heavy cotton where privacy is needed. “It sounds excessive on paper,” Bokr admits, “but the space still feels calm and neutral, just with way more personality than we initially planned.”

The project’s clarity stems from constraint. Limited resources and existing structural challenges guided every decision. “We had to design smart, source smart, and make the space feel intentional without overspending,” Bokr says. The design relies on minimal construction and maximal sensitivity, zoning achieved through light, elevation, and tactility rather than division.

Circ Studio takes its name from the Arabic word “circ,” meaning “circus,” an apt reflection of its unorthodox and playful spirit. “We try to move away from the formality and stiffness architecture is usually associated with,” Bokr explains. “We like to speculate, experiment, and sometimes work with ideas that feel a bit absurd, because that’s where interesting things happen.”

That philosophy extends to how the practice visualises its work. Rather than beginning with polished renders, the team starts with quick, imperfect sketches. “A sketch doesn’t pretend to be perfect. It’s honest, which is exactly what early design should be,” Bokr says.