Exercise Room Provides Clear Vantage Points for Exercisers, Instructor

This multipurpose room provides exercisers and the instructor with clear vantage points.

In the design of a wellness center, group cycling is often lumped together with other exercise activities, with the resulting rectangular-box multipurpose room seeming rather generic. Not so this studio at The Health & Fitness Center at Washtenaw Community College. Although the room was intended for group cycling use, the setup would also be conducive to any activities in which exercisers follow a leader, including yoga and Pilates. Designer Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative of Denver included a soffit midway along the long axis of the room to give the instructor a specific place to hold forth. Indirect lighting fixtures radiate from there, with the rubber flooring beneath mirroring the radial pattern, ensuring that all eyes are focused on the instructor, who from that location can control the lighting levels, fan speeds and audio output.