A DESIGN-LED REVOLUTION IN CELLULAR RECOVERY LED BY HPO.TECH

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a clinical process where individuals breathe pure oxygen in a pressurized environment to accelerate the body’s natural healing powers, treating everything from non-healing wounds to athletic exhaustion. Traditionally, this technology has been confined to the sterile, intimidating corridors of hospitals, housed within industrial steel tanks that often trigger anxiety and claustrophobia. 

HPO.TECH is disrupting this narrative by reimagining the hyperbaric chamber not as a piece of medical machinery, but as a human-centered living capsule under a pressurized architectural environment. By merging aerospace-grade engineering with wellness-driven aesthetics, they are shifting the focus from a cold clinical necessity to a restorative experience that feels more like stepping into a futuristic space capsule than a medical device.

the Oyster Hyperbaric Chamber | all images courtesy of HPO.TECH

ENGINEERING MEETS ARCHITECTURE: THE VISION OF TOLGA KABAK

Why should a life-saving technology look like a machine that people are afraid to enter? This question sits at the heart of the technological shift led by HPO.TECH co-founder and CTO Tolga Kabak. As a mechanical engineer with a master’s degree specifically in hyperbaric chambers, Kabak recognized that the industry lacked design intelligence — the ability to reconcile strict safety protocols with a high-end spatial experience. Under his leadership, the Istanbul-based company operates at the intersection of diving technology, aerospace-grade engineering, and clinical science, guided by the idea that a chamber should be an object of luxury and wellness.

‘In reality, a hyperbaric chamber is a space where people spend hours inside. For that reason, I do not see it merely as a pressure tank, but rather as an architectural environment operating under pressure. I paid special attention to spatial perception, light and visibility, interior volume, materials, and psychological comfort during the design process. My design philosophy is very simple: advanced engineering should not prevent the creation of beautiful and comfortable spaces,’ explains Tolga Kabak, co-founder and CTO of HPO.TECH.

the concept mimics the organic geometry of a shell, replacing industrial tanks with a human-centered living capsule

PRIORITIZING PSYCHOLOGICAL COMFORT IN MEDICAL DESIGN

The hallmark of HPO.TECH’s work is the transition from opaque industrial cylinders to organic, transparent forms. Their pursuit of openness culminates in the Oyster, a modular concept that mimics the geometry of an oyster shell rather than a traditional industrial tank. With an upper lid that opens upward and an oval, organic geometry, the Oyster is designed as a new type of human-centered living capsule. This design language is a direct response to the common experience of claustrophobia. By incorporating large panoramic observation windows and spacious interior volumes, the design aims to inspire comfort rather than fear.

Achieving this level of transparency is an immense engineering feat, as integrating large windows into a pressure vessel is one of the most challenging problems in the field. As Tolga Kabak explains: ‘In many conventional hyperbaric chambers, the windows are small precisely because engineering becomes much more difficult as the size increases. We did it differently. Instead of treating windows as secondary elements added afterward, we designed the entire structure with transparency as a central component. This approach allowed us to develop hyperbaric chambers that are both structurally safe and visually far more open and comfortable.’

large panoramic windows are integrated into the structure

‘I have always been interested in systems where human experience meets advanced engineering. We’re talking aircraft, submarines, space capsules, advanced medical technologies. What fascinates me about these systems is that the laws of physics impose very strict limits. In my view, the most interesting design emerges precisely under those conditions. Constraints do not reduce creativity; they strengthen it,’ he adds. 

To offer large, safe observation points, Kabak’s team performs rigorous stress distribution and fatigue resistance analysis to ensure the acrylic structures can withstand the intense pressures up to 2.4 ATA. By transforming highly complex engineering into a restorative, sensory experience, hyperbaric technology is evolving into advanced scientific research, providing the platforms for groundbreaking insights of age reversal and neurological recovery. ‘From both a technological and design perspective, this transformation will redefine how we think about human environments in medicine,’ Kabak concludes.

the design aims to inspire comfort rather than fear

Tolga Kabak, CTO of HPO.TECH

project info: 

name: OYSTER

company: HPO.TECH | @hpotech.hyperbaric

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