Club H Fitness Murray Hill

New York, NY
Construction Cost: $7.8 million
Area / Square Feet: 30,000
Occupancy Date: November 2007

This luxury gym and spa is designed to fuse the energy of the neighborhood it serves with the relaxed and casual atmosphere of a New York loft. As the overall design places equal importance on fi tness, socialization and relaxation, members at Club H Murray Hill are provided with multiple types of lounges, an abundance of functional training spaces and several group exercise rooms.

A significant design challenge was that the space is more than 400 feet long and just 60 feet wide. Given that limitation, designers incorporated existing concrete columns to create a series of distinct spaces.

The gym is layered with natural American walnut fl oors, iridescent mosaic tiles, hand-cast glass that is backlit to provide a modern curtainwall, 1960s-style cast-concrete block screens and a 30-foot moss wall.

To add an element of fun, the club was designed to play on the concepts of good and evil — good represented by spaces for activities such as yoga and stretching, with design elements including the glass-sided stairway with rich walnut floors; and evil represented by spaces for more intensive activities such as weight training and boxing, and marked by elements such as a translucent red glass wall and exposed concrete. The duality of these areas makes for a compelling and satisfying space to visit.