REFLECT ATHENS
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REFLECT ATHENS
Fitness Centre in Palaio Faliro, Attica
A former retail unit in Palaio Faliro is reimagined as a contemporary gym, designed to meet demanding functional requirements while elevating the visitor’s spatial experience.
The concept takes inspiration from the shifting rhythm and intensity that define a gym visit: preparation, exertion, and recovery. The existing structure unfolds across three levels, with a clear gradation from openness to privacy. This progression is used to establish two distinct “worlds,” marked by contrasting atmospheres between the floors, each with its own functional and aesthetic character.
The lower level, enclosed and oriented toward the building’s courtyard, hosts a Pilates studio, changing rooms, and wet areas. It serves as a zone of preparation, where movement is gentle and deliberate, designed to release the weight of daily routine. Warm materials, earthy tones, and subdued lighting create an atmosphere of calm and well-being, encouraging visitors to slow down.
By contrast, the ground floor and mezzanine are animated and outward-looking. Four expansive openings to the street transform the gym into a lively, double-sided “screen”: workouts are projected outward to the city, while the city’s constant motion becomes a backdrop for those inside. The ground floor houses resistance machines, free weights, and cardio equipment, while the mezzanine accommodates the digital training studio and trainers’ office, maintaining visual continuity with the main exercise space. Exposed concrete, metal details, and dark flooring, combined with the double-height volume and sharp directional lighting, establish a raw, energetic setting that intensifies the pace and vigor of training.
The return from the ground floor to the basement marks a shift in mood: from intensity to serenity, from exposure to introspection. By staging this contrast between two spatial “worlds,” movement, atmosphere, sound, and materiality become active participants in the visitors' experience through the gym.
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Location: Palaio Faliro, Attica
Status: Completed, 2024Ateno Team:
Elias Theodorakis, Yiorgos Fiorentinos, Konstantinos VlachoulisCollaborators:
MEP Design: George Manelis
Construction Supervision: Konstantinos VlachoulisPhotography:
George Bogdanis
Client: Reflect Athens
