Operators were so excited with Snap’s new identity that they selected Amber Road’s design as an upgrade option for all refits across Australia and the United States. Leanne Amodeo reports
April 3rd, 2013
It’s still early days for the newly formed Amber Road but the Sydney-based design studio is already generating interest. And its recent Snap Fitness fitout in Sydney’s George Street is an early indication that sisters Katy Svalbe and Yasmine Ghoniem are interested in delivering projects that are both intelligent and playful.
Interior designer Ghoniem’s brief was to revamp the American gym franchise to appeal to a Sydney clientele. “We had to transform the brand without losing its original identity,” she explains. “And without changing it too much.” With a client that was supportive and open to new ideas, Ghoniem’s eventual design proposition provided a simple yet effective solution.
She has used three design elements to break up the 445sqm space and denote different functions. Fencing, inserted to separate the work-out area, is immediately suggestive of a cool urban environment. While the birch reception and group of three plaster cast gym items displayed on a wall add an element of the handmade to an otherwise industrial, hard-edged space.
Ghoniem acknowledges that designing a gym is difficult because of the need to accommodate the gym’s equipment, which is more often than not large and bulky. “What we tried to do is not hide the equipment,” she explains. “But rather make it very evident that there are places within the space where you work-out and places where you can sit down and chat to a friend.”
The result is a design first and foremost concerned with the comfort of the end-user. Custom-made birch boxes, which can be interconnected to form benches, also act as moveable seating for staff and clients. “We wanted to make going to the gym an exciting and social experience,” says Ghoniem. And judging by initial feedback they have managed to do just that.
Amber Road Design
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
Create a configuration to suit your needs with this curved collection.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
This home by K2LD Architects plays with internal scale to make the most of sweeping views across Melbourne CBD.
The Cosentino Group celebrated the opening of its new showroom in Sydney this week with plenty of company .
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Beau Fulwood and Alison Peach on returning to a low-tech, first-principles concept of design as a strategy to combat climate change.
A hospitality venue in the heart of Osaka comprising four dining options – a place where nostalgic pastimes meet high-end dining.