November 2007

A Fit(ness) Environment

By Kelli Anderson

From designing with "green" principles to making sure your club is inviting to newbies and experienced exercisers alike, there are many ways to ensure the success of your fitness facility. Read on to discover some strategies you can use to ensure your fitness facility's success.

Demonstrating to the community that you are committed to eco-friendly methods is always good PR, not to mention a smart way to reduce operating costs in the long run.

Those buildings meeting the criteria of sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, use of recycled materials and indoor environmental quality as prescribed by the U.S. Green Building Council receive the coveted designation of LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Although LEED-certified facilities initially face an estimated 2 percent to 5 percent higher construction cost than standard construction, LEED designs reduce operating costs over time, help the environment and just make sense. For facilities like The Old Greenwood, a golf facility in Truckee, Calif., and its community restaurant, the Wild Goose, both part of the Tahoe Mountain Club, the LEED designation was heralded with pride. Sustainable ideas incorporated into these two sites included recycled denim insulation, water-conserving fixtures and sensors, sustainably harvested woods and materials bought locally.

Common sustainable tactics often start with the facility's exterior. By planting native species used to the climate conditions of your area, less watering and pampering is required while simultaneously providing shelter and food for native birds, bees and butterflies. Plants or grass are watered only as needed (and then only at night) to avoid wasteful evaporation and cut down on costs. Recycling clippings as compost is yet another cost-saving and organic approach to grounds maintenance. Reduced HVAC costs can be achieved by incorporating more natural light for to offset heating costs in the winter, while strategically placed trees and structures provide shade to reduce air-conditioning costs in summer.

Natural light not only can enhance a LEED rating score, it also enhances mood. While design treatments of fitness facilities will vary greatly between luxury private clubs and community recreation centers or university sports facilities, one great common design must-do is natural light.

"Members buy membership with all of their senses," said Nanette Pattee Francini, president and co-founder of The Sports Club Company of their 30-year luxury fitness club experience. "We like a lot of light and colors in nature—neutral with accents in a brighter color. We want a light and airy feeling in the club."

Likewise, university fitness facilities as well as many community recreation centers and high-energy health clubs also understand the value of natural light.

"We're seeing more aesthetics and natural light in colleges," said Curtis Moody, principal with Moody-Nolan Inc., an award-winning architectural firm. "Good natural light is still a number-one factor, and that ties into sustainability and green architecture. Green or sustainable wasn't even done five years ago. Now you have to consider it."

For university recreation and fitness facilities like the one recently designed by Moody at the Ohio State University's RPAC, creating a very open space with lots of exterior glass serves several other purposes. This transparent style of design floods the interior with natural light while allowing pedestrians outside the building to see through the exterior, inviting them to join the high-energy activity within.

"There's got to be some excitement before they see it," Moody explained. "If you wall it off, you've lost. You want passers-by to see activity—it's a sales point."

Likewise, the interior space is also designed to be open. Moody likens the concept to shopping malls designed so people can see lots of stores and options before going in to shop.

"This generation of facilities really plays on that—it's a generation of people you have to entertain, to a degree. There's more energy when you don't hide the program."

Conversely, such an open interior is not conducive to the luxurious atmosphere of a private club whose membership comes mostly from branding and word-of-mouth. For those facilities filling the five-star niche, seeing a gymnasium or workout equipment from an entrance goes completely against the desire to create an exclusive, relaxing atmosphere.

"The whole touch point for luxury resort environments is the exotic woods, marble, tropical plants and design details," Pattee Francini said. "When people walk into the lobby, they don't see a gymnasium, they see a spa, a store—they see wasted space to signify luxury. In larger clubs you don't see fitness until you get to another floor. We include a water feature up front wherever we can and have a major feature stair for a visual, cool element."

And part of luxury is time—time to relax, time to take in the many amenities offered by the club, which encourages socializing. The longer patrons stay, the more likely they will continue to make purchases. While it is true that many are seeking the "quickie" to better fit a workout into their limited schedule, it is also true that many are seeking a place to socialize in addition to getting fit. Providing for both is the answer.

Although not new news to the lifestyle fitness clubs that have long since learned to include amenities like coffee shops, restaurants, spas and boutiques to provide for members' needs beyond fitness, universities that used to be sports-only-minded have now come around—and they have to. With schools vying more competitively than ever for students' tuition money, quality of life has become a tremendously important differentiating factor.

"We've taken away what was the old adage of 'a fitness program and that's it,'" Moody said. "Our programs have to be in conjunction with other things. It's the way people socialize now. That's a big one. We're seeing it on college campuses as well."

With students more educated about fitness experiences than generations before them, they have come to expect a fitness environment that is not only great for sports and exercise, but which is aesthetic as well as multipurpose.

"We ask, 'What are the other activities in the building and what are the needs of people?'" Moody said. "What can we provide for a more comfortable visit? Do they need study space? We can put small group rooms adjacent to allow networking. We think about Internet access. Do they want to grab a bite to eat? We often merge a restaurant and concessions—more than a juice bar."

Good design ultimately comes from knowing which clients will dominate the use of the fitness facility and what needs most accommodate them. However, it's critical to include designs, equipment and programming that cater to the lesser percentages of your population, too. It's a balance that begins with good questions and attention to what matters.

"It's not realistic to be all things," said Bryan Green, president and founder of Los Angeles-based Advantage Fitness Products. "In health clubs you have to be more flexible and have more studio space to do Pilates and then use that same space for a body pump class. A corporate wellness center has greater space restrictions. For health clubs or the Ritz Carlton, it's going to be different. You really have to identify your members and then look at creative ways to have mass appeal. We consult on designs about entertainment integration, placement of equipment, lighting and give direction."

Using 3-D cam techniques, design consultant companies like Green's provide an accurate picture of how certain equipment can be arranged to the best advantage and flow for each space it is depicting. It certainly takes the guesswork out of what can be a complicated process to create the kind of experience the facility is aiming for.

Delivering the kind of experience a guest wants involves asking questions like how often guests or members come, what kind of exercise experience do they want, what kind of demographics are involved (are they an iPod crowd?), and designing a space to be able to expand to the ever-changing fads and trends. Flexibility is key.

"The biggest development in design has to do with growth of programs in general—refining it," Moody said. "The sizing has grown substantially—planning larger for growth."

Designing for flexibility requires a union of both good design and good planning. Without the use of functioning crystal balls, we are obviously limited in our ability to see into the programming future. Keeping options open and designing for multiple uses, therefore, is the best option. Tall ceilings, open spaces, wide corridors and more electrical outlets than you can shake a stick at are a good place to start.

Creating unnecessary specialized spaces is a definite no-no and a common mistake. Researching how people will actually be using the facility is key, and eliminates guesswork and wishful thinking.

Larger spaces also become more activity-friendly if they are able to be broken down. Dividers are the most common way to get the most activities out of the same space and come in a wide variety of options. Floor-to-ceiling prop netting or curtains are typically the choice for setting boundaries for athletic events, while dividers intended for social gatherings or meetings need to take acoustics and visual impact into consideration.

Based on the homework done before a project, areas of use for a space need to be identified, zoned and properly placed so as to avoid putting loud activities next to quiet ones. Knowing what activity will take place where helps to make the necessary arrangements for the acoustic, electrical and sound needs.

For the space-challenged common areas, components such as basketball hoops, screens, netting dividers and even bleacher seating are just some of the items that can be housed in the walls and ceilings when not in use to open up space. With storage space always at a premium and in short supply, the more fold-aways and hideaway options, the better.

Color is perhaps one of the least expensive and most dramatic ways to influence the character of a space. Choosing the right color palette depends on understanding your user base and the image you want to present. Although you could hire a color psychologist—yes, there is such a profession—good designers are well aware of color's ability to impact mood.

Are you after a high-energy vibe or a soothing retreat? Are you catering to a lot of families and their children? Is there a theme you're depicting through the facility, and if so, what are the colors that most fit with that theme? High-energy colors tend to be bold and hot with lots of contrast—think tropical flair or modern grays and blacks punched with vibrant reds and yellows. Soothing colors tend to be earthier, richer or softer—rich browns, soft greens and ochre to name a few.

Whatever you select, to avoid a dizzying kaleidoscope effect, narrow your choices to a select few and keep track of the color names and placements for those unavoidable touchups later on. And remember, color is not forever. About every five years colors should be reevaluated and possibly altered or changed to avoid looking dated.

Placement of color is yet another issue. Accent walls, where one wall is painted differently than the others, attract attention, create dimension and add interest. Painting wide bands of color around large multipurpose rooms and gyms can add interest and break up an otherwise monotonous canvas.

For those facilities needing to watch their budget waistlines, changing out color can be less expensive if trendier colors are only applied to the lower third of the walls. Another trick is to hang colorful banners in unsightly tall, voluminous spaces like bathhouse areas to deflect attention away from the roof to add interest and airy movement.

The purpose of the space is another decision factor. It only makes sense that in the child-care areas, colors will tend to be fun—think primary red, yellow and blue. In spa areas or studios designed to be used for more contemplative programming like yoga, the colors should be calming, neutral and not detracting. Even the sporting areas need some common-sense consideration. White balls and white walls are like polar bears in a snow storm—either balls or walls would need a color-contrasting change.

"Sophisticated" is a word that you'll hear more and more to describe today's fitness facility user, whether they are at college recreation centers, YMCAs or a private health club. No longer the inexperienced exerciser of the '70s who had to be coerced to enter the dark confines of a boxy workout space, today's patron has come to expect—and is getting—far more.

When you have a community-center budget, however, and clientele wishing for the moon, the best next alternative is smart design. The use of color and the right accents in the right places can go a long way to quenching those with champagne tastes on a beer-tap budget.

The following are some tips any facility can use to put some upscale in their look:

• Combine different colors in integral colored concrete flooring along with interesting scoring patterns around pools, decks and in locker rooms.
• Combine different textured and colored CMU blocks to create interesting bands on a wall instead of the usual two coats of paint.
• Put your limited budget focus on the entrance. Installing a few high-end materials in strategic places such as the desk, on pillars or columns or flooring material will have a huge impact overall.
• Having an interesting focal point in the entry, from a water feature, a themed work of art or just an accent wall painted a different color with an attractive display can add tremendous ambiance or interest.
• Woods are timeless—and expensive. Substituting wood stains and wood laminates can reduce high-end wood costs or placing wood in a few highly visible places to suggest more than there is will also do the trick: wood beams, chair rails or trims.
• If unsightly areas cannot be easily painted away, try hanging a large swath of colored fabric like a banner to hide the problem while adding color and texture to an otherwise unattractive space.
• Dimmer switches not only reduce electrical costs, they add ambiance.
• Add sconces around a locker room mirror for a whole new "feel" or frame the mirrors with wood trim for added sophistication.
• Uplighting over lockers adds a multidimensional punch for little cost.
• Add greenery by using artificial and potted plants.
• Paint exposed pipes to blend in or be more a part of the act
• Natural light transforms any space from dark and industrial to airy and inviting. Add windows between walls, to the outside or add skylights to brighten a space.