Spas, Health Clubs and Gyms
Gold: Studio C102, 1Rebel Victoria
London Studio C102’s fifth 1Rebel, at London Victoria, is the most radical yet.
Inspired by visionary avant-garde architecture of the 1960s, the 670sqm boutique fitness studio makes maximum use of its ‘contextless’ environment within a new-build development. The resulting design is as arresting as it is functional, a piece of playful ‘event’ architecture that supports 1Rebel’s aim of attracting a wider audience than a traditional gym. The venue delivers fitness classes as entertainment, allowing customers to socialise while simultaneously improving their health and fitness.
A metal-clad spaceship appears to have crash-landed into the triple-height space. The dramatic intervention contains the UK’s first multi-tier cycling auditorium, counterbalanced by a glowing vertical circulation shaft. The auditorium’s shimmering skin of aluminium mesh backlit by programmable circular light fittings forms the backdrop for a mirror-polished bar/reception, waiting area and retail space.
Sustainability was a key consideration throughout the design process. The water station encourages the use of refillable bottles, minimising consumption of single-use plastic. The architectural specification included studio flooring made from recycled rubber and walls clad with eco-friendly wood-wool acoustic panels.
Silver: TANK, Vondelgym
Vondelgyms initial success of its hybridism focused offering has spilled over into a growing brand with gyms across Amsterdam, all designed by TANK. Its newest upscale-location is located in the heart of Amsterdam’s financial district ‘de Zuidas’.
This Vondelgym further develops the blend of dynamic gym and social hub. The interior is shaped around the belief that large open spaces allow participants to ‘feel the energy of the other classes’. This space demands a creative demarcation between social and work-out areas: a graphical, crisp division of the spaces is produced by juxtaposing the warm tones of the social space with the cool, sober ones of the gym area. The open lay-out also calls for an aesthetic solution for noise management. Stacked concrete tiles and steel mesh absorb the noise and lessen the intensity of the loud environment.
The interior design concept amplifies the brand experience through implementing raw materials in unexpected ways. Repurposed wooden gym floors, gymnastic rings and a Centre Pompidou-like celebration of the vents and technical installations, translate the concept of an old-school boxing gym to a contemporary urban hub.
The Zuidas is the first Vondelgym without chairs or benches, to encourage a more active stance in downtime as well. In the bar area TANK has implemented the new ‘no seating’ philosophy through playful use of heavy wooden blocks that can be used for short-time sitting or, indeed, an impromptu work-out.
Vondelgym presents a robust, growing brand that proves fitness is most meaningful when seen holistically.
Bronze: Matrix Design, Shanghai Jindi Zhuqiao AD2040 Sales Center
It is a sales center design project of Gemdale Group, with a total area of 2,000sqm, which was completed in January 2019.
Based on Oriental aesthetics, designers use modern feelings of design language to deduce the esteem of nature.The design elements are mainly natural marble. It not only reflects the quality of the project, but also caters to the feelings of nature. The metal and artistic glass emphasize the contemporary sense of whole space.
The style of lobby pursues the spiritual core and diversity of design while creating a new understanding with consideration of humanity and nature. The designers perfectly combine linear elements with modern styles. With wood veneer and metal lines as media, interspersed with the aesthetic thinking of modern art, to make the spatial level more diversified.
Sand table area is the center of vision and action, with the art device hanging from the top, it enriches the visual effect of a large space. The bookcase extending to the top of the wall adds a touch of book fragrance. Spotlight is rich in spatial details, which sprinkles mottled shadows on the ceiling.
The negotiation area adopts a well-ordered array pattern, emphasizing human experience and comfort. The addition of Chinese elements such as metal screen makes the whole space more quiet and solemn. The large area of wood color gives people a warm feeling.
The light source device around the pool area sprinkles a little light, so that people can enjoy the beauty of light and shadow.
Cinemas, Theatres & Music Venues
Gold: PES-Architects, Fuzhou SCAC
Located in Mawei New Town, facing the Minjiang River, the Strait Culture and Arts Centre is about connections. It connects cities and communities along and over the Taiwan Strait. It connects the Fuzhou Mawei New City Development and its waterways to the Minjiang River and the natural environment. And, finally, it connects people to culture.
A central concourse lobby, open all day, connects all five separate venues. This concept provides for a flexible usability of the public spaces and creates a vessel for a playful connection of the arts to the people, promoting the growth of local creativity and art production.
We discovered ceramics as a suitable, truly Chinese material for the project. The ceramic material is used in different ways in several key areas throughout the building design and is strongly linked historically to the context of the Maritime Silk Road trade connection between China and Europe.
The five main façades are made of ceramic louvres, maximizing the shading capacity of the façade, and creating a translucent “Jasmine color” skin for the building.
In the 1,000 seat Concert Hall convexly curved inclined walls surround the orchestra and audience, creating a multitude of lateral reflections, as well as an intimate space. A floral pattern was engraved onto the three-dimensional ceramic tiles, the design inspired by the “Scrolling Peonies” pattern of the Yuan Dynasty. The 1,600 seat Opera Hall features ceramic tiles in different shades of warm grey, combining 13 floral motives to create the continuous 3,000sqm “Jasmine Branches” pattern.
Silver: One Plus Partnership, Wuhan Panlong Plaza Yinxing Cinema
Movies played in cinema are images projected from the little lens of the projector to the large screen. Wuhan Panlong Plaza Yinxing Cinema applies the theory of projection as the theme, bringing the movie element to the entire space. Normally, one would think of adding elements into the interior while designing. This time, designers think out of the box and use adverse thinking by imagining the space as a cubic volume and applying subtraction concept to shape the space. It does not only emphasize the form of the architecture, but also interestingly combine the elements of architecture and interior design.
Another remarkable feature of the cinema is the sole use of grey cement in the entire space covering the ceiling, wall, pillar, and floor, so that the focus can remain on the form and projections of the space. It also creates a calming effect that helps the audience to clear their minds to enjoy the movie. The same concept is applied to the corridor by subtracting projections in the cubic volume that forms a titled structure.
The use of grey color extends to the chairs, wall and carpet in the auditoriums. The walls are made with acoustic panels in the pattern of the outline of lobby’s space structure. Lights are installed in between the acoustic panels, creating an illusion of a 3D effect. The pattern on the wall is also applied to the carpet, unifying the auditorium with the entire space of the cinema.
Bronze: Matrix Design, Jinke Oriental Aesthetics Sales Center
The design inspiration is from local street culture for cooperation with Jinke on Oriental Aesthetics project. The orientation and style of this project are based on the artistic aesthetics of experience. It fully expresses the spirit of Jinke brand, which is to build artistic space with modern oriental style conforming to experienced aesthetics.
The interior space is divided based on oval structure from architecture design. Oval shapes in different sizes are combined with visiting guidelines of the sales center to create a sense of rhythm, fun and level. The interior design layout simulates the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau terrain, curved lines casually connect architecture, interior, gardening art into one unity.
Functional zones are also conformed with the oval shape space structure from plane to elevation. For example, the oval shaped doorway, Sinology House and bookshelves in oval shapes. White as the basic color weakens the ancient impression of a colorful Guizhou.
Sinology House and Little Theatre are two of the highlights. Surrounded by water and mountains in curved lines, the white clapboards spotted on the walls form a brand new storage system. They are just like the mountain shadows wriggle its way on the wall. The clapboards not only make full use of vertical space to create more storage places for books, more important, they endow the ordinary space with natural conception and oriental philosophy.
Soft decorations design follow the leisure and simple characters of oriental scholars to show that modern design should have the responsibility to nourish life with culture.
Sports Stadiums & Sports Centres
Gold: Jump Studios – a Populous Company, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium General Concourse
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sets a new global benchmark for concourse offerings, creating an unrivalled matchday experience for every fan, no matter what ticket they hold.
Jump Studios and Populous have designed a variety of ‘multi-experience’ interior spaces within the stadium, taking inspiration from the club’s rich heritage and long history in Tottenham.
Fans and visitors to the stadium will encounter a wide palette of concrete, metal and reclaimed timbers, used to complement the surrounding urban area and reinforce the strong sense of belonging that fans hold for this special place.
Located within the five-storey South Stand atrium, The Market Place creates a vibrant new destination for fans to gather before and after the matches, with four street-style food units, the 65m Goal Line Bar and the Chicken House eatery.
Alongside The Market Place, local brewer Beavertown Brewery adds its own inimitable presence to the stadium’s concourse offering with the Beavertown Tottenham Taproom, serving an exciting range of craft beers brewed just metres away in the world’s first microbrewery in a football stadium.
Three feature bars inspired by Tottenham Hotspur’s history and the local area inject further life and character into the general concourse. The designs draw inspiration from the best elements of the modern premium hospitality landscape, combining these with the industrious materiality of traditional English pubs to create a series of authentic bar experiences that rival the very best high street offering.
Silver: Bates Smart, The Club Stand
Flemington Racecourse is home to Australia’s most renowned week of horse racing, the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The brief from the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) for the new Club Stand was to create a symbolic building which would celebrate the incredibly rich heritage of the club, exemplify the future and reimagine the race day experience.
The interior design capitalises on the spectacular views to the racetrack and incorporates thirteen distinctly diverse hospitality venues, providing an unrivalled experience for patrons.
The exterior architectural expression is continued internally creating a cohesive design language. The spaces are orientated to maximise views towards the Straight and Winning Post respectively.
The hospitality venues are designed as stage sets, inserted into the timeless architectural volumes. Interiors are assigned distinct aesthetic personalities, inspired by the history of horse racing, to create a range of events and to appeal to a diverse demographic. This approach provides the interior fitout with additional longevity.
Celebrating the lineage of The Club Stand was important. The interior is imbued with references to the history of the VRC, while at the same time championing its future. The VRC’s collection of artwork and memorabilia, as well as repurposed elements from the former Members’ Old Grandstand, such as restored timber benches, newel posts and original signage, are woven throughout providing historic texture.
The Club Stand has transformed a day at the races. The venue is now able to cater for various functions, from private receptions to corporate events, offering an unrivalled experience and commercial opportunity for the VRC.
