CROSSFIT 351
ARCHITECT /DESIGNER
SERE
LOCATION
Oeiras, Portugal
DATE
2017
DESCRIPTION
Crossfit 351 found themselves hard-pressed to find new premises, and so, motivated to create an environment worthy of satisfying its followers, it was paramount to seek professional support for both the search and the ensuing infrastructure modification.
The very specific needs of a crossfit training space make it a challenge to find the right location, but a former warehouse on the outskirts of Carnaxide was the perfect fit. Despite having a smaller area than initially desired, both the height of the room (6.60m) and the mezzanine floor with a metallic structure (100m2) turned out to be ideal.
Its characteristics facilitated arranging the changing rooms and other private areas on the first floor, thus freeing up the ground floor for the reception and workout area, ultimately allowing for an optimal divide between private and communal oriented areas.
The delay in scouting a suitable place and the pressing need to liberate the previous property curtailed the construction and design time down to two months, which, together with a tight budget, made for defining premisses in the project’s guide lines.
Besides the budget control, another constraint influenced the outline of the design: the consent for the routine presence of pets, which led to the creation of designated areas and physical barriers.
In order to reduce labor costs and building time we chose to apply modular panels, namely fiber-cement and OSB panels whose measurements were thoughtfully considered in the dimensioning of the different gym areas so as to avoid wastage and in situ cutting time. The technical installations are on display – the water supply design was conceived with that in mind. Pipes are located under the mezzanine floor, which allows for easier maintenance and highlights the industrial concept of the gym.
Heedful of resource economy, most of the construction work was done on the mezzanine floor and the reception area, the latter acting as a functional core comprising of counter, back office, material storage and a restroom for the staff also suited for persons with reduced mobility.
The large preexistent sectionable gate of the original warehouse was kept. However, considering it will always be open during opening hours, it was deemed necessary to create a new barrier via a short wall with a swing door leading to the staircase for the first floor, which, combined with the counter delimits the reception and limits the access to the training area.
This functional core of the reception which conveys the idea of a box and is entirety built of OSB panels, pavement included, hides the office furniture reclaimed from the former gym and acts as a pivotal point between the surrounding areas. Inside this box, the access to which is made by a concealed door, there is a staff only area, and through a small opening, animals can also benefit from the use of this space.
The reception wall was risen to hold the 351 logo and simultaneously mask the flight of stairs that connects to the mezzanine, originally in iron and metal floor plates, and now in black fibrocement panels blending as an integral part of the box. The contrast between the colours of the materials defines the route and sets the usages apart. The toilet facilities for disabled persons is next to the stairs and right across the entrance, thus encouraging the practice of crossfit to persons with reduced mobility.
At the top of the stairs we find a set of lockers and a circulation area which, through especially designed signage for this project, made of white cut-out acrylic, leads us to on one end to the male locker room and on the other to the female one. In order to ensure the privacy of the users we sought out separated routes and sheltered entrances via a technical closet in the male locker room and an opaque suspended curtain in the female one, as none of them have doors.
Both locker rooms are symmetric and similar. On the entrance we can find the dressing area with a central bench and on the interior side wall there are built-in lockers flanked on one end by the shower corridor and on the other by the water closets. On the wall opposite the entrance, built in translucent polycarbonate, lie two sinks with a suspended mirror, and on the same row, a countertop for hair-driers on the female side, and urinals on the male counterpart.
The whole of the locker rooms is characterised by a polycarbonate wall which projects the lightning of its interior over the training area and allows for the perception of movement within, albeit without subtracting any privacy of these spaces. The remaining illumination was adapted to the new requirements, reusing the light armatures of the original building and the ones left behind by the former lessee.
Taking into consideration that the practice of Crossfit is very rooted on social interaction, an area near the reception was set aside so that the trainees can socialize and wait for their class. This informal space is furnished with birch plywood boxes which are part of the training routines but serve here as benches too. The training area is adjacent to this space, and marking this transition there is a lower area, under the mezzanine, where the introduction to the practice takes place, and it is also the storage area for the equipment, the board with the workouts of the day and the music control area. Contiguous to this area, and now enjoying both the full height of the premises and a more industrial environment, lies the main workout floor with its dedicated equipment.
This was a challenging project to work on. As intense and demanding as CrossFit training itself. The outcome couldn’t have been more gratifying, as we managed to plan and design high- quality facilities with a tight budget and deadline.