Space:

Recreational

In this conceptual redesign, the existing floor plate of a local F45 studio is reimagined using the same cost-conscious materials and off-the-shelf products as the original build. The goal? To demonstrate how spatial design - not budget - can transform user experience. While retaining F45's industrial-fitness aesthetic, the revised design strengthens the brand's core values of community, collaboration and fitness-support, all without increasing built-out costs.

Where the current space feels congested and transactional, the redesign introduces more fluid movement and human connection. A large communal bench replaces the cramped entry sequence, encouraging casual interaction and a sense of belonging. The check-in counter is minimized and moved against the wall, allowing coaches to greet attendees face-to-face, eliminating the divide often embedded in a traditional reception desk format.

The most impactful changes lie in the changing rooms. By rethinking the layout, the design increases the shower count from two to five, and accommodates a generous bench which also provides hooks and storage - all critical for a class model where everyone starts and ends at once. The trade-off? A shift from individual shower stalls to a shared wet-room, a decision that opens up a deeper dialogue about contemporary fitness culture and spatial expectations.

In todays urban landscape - where high-rent spaces limit what's possible, and an online culture that distorts body image - could the change room serve a new role? The design dares to ask whether these semi-public, yet inherently vulnerable spaces might offer something increasingly rare: a moment of authentic, platonic togetherness. In a society both saturated with hyper-curated online bodies yet ever more private in real life expectations, could the simple act of changing and cleaning yourself in a shared space become a subtle form of resistance - an architectural prompt toward empathy, reality, and community?

This speculative proposal is as much about design as it is about the politics of space, suggesting that the environments we sweat in could do more than just facilitate workouts - they could help rebuilt connection.