Regulation Rooms
Converting unused workplace space into recovery environments for high-pressure institutions.
A Workplace People Don't Need to Recover From
Law firms are losing associates. Hospitals are losing nurses. Senior living facilities are losing caregivers. Most retention strategies focus on compensation or benefits. But the real issue is environmental: high-pressure workplaces exhaust the nervous system with no opportunity for recovery.My name is Kai and I design regulation rooms - evidence-based spaces where employees restore cognitive clarity and emotional equilibrium during demanding shifts. A regulation room can be as simple as transforming an underused conference room or storage space into a high-value retention asset.My work is informed by my research at the Stanford University Behavior Design Lab and by my own sensory sensitivity as someone on the spectrum. I've spent years studying how lighting, acoustics, texture, and spatial composition can either dysregulate or restore us.I refined this approach through building Tea at Shiloh in Los Angeles, a space known for its deeply calming atmosphere. Today I apply that sensory design methodology to help organizations address burnout and retention through environmental intervention.