To mark 40 years of design excellence, founder and CEO Nerio Alessandri recently came to Sydney. We spoke to the Italian design icon at a bustling event at Technogym’s Ruschutters Bay showroom.
March 23rd, 2023
‘Let’s Move For A Better World’ is both the name and spirit of Technogym’s refreshing campaign to inspire people to get moving and promote stronger physical and mental health. It goes to the core of Nerio Alessandri’s vision, one that has grown over four decades to become a global leader in wellbeing equipment design.
The initiative will engage more than 200,00 participants across 32 countries, with all ‘Moves’ tracked and leading to donations via Technogym equipment to an Australian charity. For Alessandri, who started Technogym at the age of 22 from his garage in Italy, the same fundamental philosophy that launched it back then continues to guide the work today.
Wellness, or at least fitness, culture can sometimes be “too hedonistic and not holistic,” according to Alessandri. “With Technogym, we have the possibility to evolve the industry in Australia to be more focused on a holistic approach of lifestyle and wellness.”
This approach, crucially, is not limited in terms of traditional design settings. Technogym equipment is not made for the gym and only the gym; it is ready for use in hotels, hospitality, medical and residential settings to name a few. Above all – and in-keeping with the holistic approach to wellness – the products are versatile, moving across the restrictive boundaries that say stylish design and fitness equipment are separate domains.
Related: HDR comments on the wellness-driven city
“Anytime, anywhere – different solutions for different locations because wellness is a lifestyle,” explains Alessandri in relation to the Technogym philosophy.
“We are proud to support Australia and Technogym is the enabler – we design the space, the journey and the experience,” says Alessandri. What Technogym is specifically aiming to enable in this latest campaign is healthy physical activation alongside education and of course good design.
“Technogym is about value for humanity because we believe in healthy people and healthy lives – we believe that health is wealth.” This broad understanding of wellness is what sets the approach apart from standard fitness-orientated product design, and it’s what means a piece of equipment can make for a stylish domestic addition.
The founder and CEO sees a direct line not only between this mentality and his garage-bound designs of 40 years ago, but also reaching deep into the roots of the Italian, or Mediterranean, way of life. It is this coherent strand of fundamentally unchanging foundations that has allowed the company to grow with such global impact without losing touch of its origins.
“Today, after 40 years, it’s still the same because the balance between body, mind and spirit, as well as personal wellness, is the same. Healthy mind, healthy body – Technogym promotes wellness because of the Italian quality of life,” says Alessandri as he threads a narrative reaching all the way from Ancient Rome to Rushcutters Bay.
With this bedrock of belief in place, the Technogym founder sees plenty of room to bring it to life in ever new ways. “The future is to realise and execute it,” he says. In pursuing just that, Alessandri is conscious of the need to confront a certain paradox – to reach globally while remaining locally grounded. The Technogym Wellness Valley in Cesena is one way that those Italian design roots remain strong.
“Our philosophy is to live the same quality of experience at home and in the gym or club because, anytime and anywhere, Technogym provides the same level,” says Alessandri. From the home gym to the hotel and everywhere in between, it’s time to move for a better world.
Technogym
technogym.com
Photography
Courtesy of Technogym
We think you might also like this story on Technogym presenting the Interior Space category at the 2023 INDE.Awards.
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!
In the pursuit of an uplifting synergy between the inner world and the surrounding environment, internationally acclaimed Interior Architect and Designer Lorena Gaxiola transform the vibration of the auspicious number ‘8’ into mesmerising artistry alongside the Feltex design team, brought to you by GH Commercial.
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.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
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.
In our series spotlighting aficionados across the design industry, we spoke with Alexandra Guglielmino, who leads the Art Advisory team at Bluethumb Art Gallery.
A hair salon in the Japanese capital blends a language of metal and water in a distinctive, original design.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
In Malaysia Spacemen has created a world of perfumed wonder with their latest project, Trove, where treasures abound.
As one of the many entries to The Social Space category at the 2024 INDE.Awards, this community centre is something out of the ordinary through its architectural design, that also provides a place for community and connection for many.
Dallas Rogers, Head of Urban Discipline at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney, comments on the history of map-making in our cities.