Les Mills Britomart
Les Mills Britomart is a large format fitness centre located on a high profile CBD site with strong connections to the increasingly dynamic Auckland waterfront district. The long glazed frontage with daily traffic streams provided the opportunity for Les Mills to display the interior of the gym as a dynamic endorsement of the Les Mills brand proposition.
One of the key drivers of the brief was to embody the energy of the Les Mills experience. To achieve this, the large scale and volume of the base building was maintained, enabling the energy of the differing fitness functions to connect between the spaces and activities.
To further enhance connection between the spaces, a large area of floor was excavated at the time of construction to provide a terraced connection between levels and increase daylight penetration into the lower areas of the complex. This strategy creates a natural amphitheatre with diverse vantage points within the space, allowing members to observe several different exercise modes from any point.
The design response utilises the structure of the building shell in its raw form and allows Les Mills to stamp its dynamic brand with contrasting and energetic design elements. This raw inherited base-building material palette is overlaid with refined architectural insertions using clear and coloured glasses, timber battens and coloured ceramic tiles together with a variety of lighting techniques to ensure internal navigation is clearly defined and that the internal experience is visually exciting.
The final overlay is provided through the Hi Tech Audio visual displays, lighting and audio design, which have been used to powerful effect to complete the vibrant experience of the gym.
