“Exercise is a form of self-reflection of who you are – what you put into it is reflected back to you both physically and mentally, as improved strength, concentration and harmony between mind and body,” says Eric Scavetta of Orbit Design Studio (Bangkok). Scavetta and fellow Design Director Phantipa Ketsamphan, and their team at Orbit, drew inspiration from the word ‘reflections’ as a springboard for their interior design for Virgin Active Tanjong Pagar – a new workout space within the Tanjong Pagar Centre.

Being located in a building planned for office use meant that Orbit had to address the challenge of a relatively low floor-to-ceiling height. The solution was to employ a combination of creative treatments on the ceilings and walls. Using mirror-finished stainless steel panels above the cafe and Active Grid training zone conjures an illusion of increased height. Custom-built joinery, indirect lighting and supergraphics also break up the perceived mass of the central service core to visually expand the space.

The choice of colours throughout the gym is related to the functions housed in each zone. Punchy saturated reds and purples glaze the surfaces in group exercise areas such as the Active Grid area, Cross Fitness zone, Boxing Studio and High Intensity Studio. And super graphics such as a stunning to-scale redwood forest backdrop and typographic lines inject a buzz, transporting fitness enthusiasts into an invigorating environment.

A monochromatic palette is applied to communal areas such as the reception, accented by intersecting silver lines. The Virgin logo is emblazoned in an eye-catching silver chrome, faceted in diagonal folds as it hugs the rhythmic feature wall.

Within the restive spaces such as the Sleep Pod suite and Himalayan Salt Inhalation Room, the colours dip to softer, darker shades of greens, purples and umber, fostering a calming ambience. The lighting used within the spaces is also infused with colours along a prismatic spectrum, gradating from magenta to violet within the female showers, and deep blue to aquamarine for the male showers.

Keeping in mind the client’s goal – “To make fitness irresistible” – the Orbit team (which has designed a number of Virgin Active branches) launched a rethinking exercise to create an immersive fitness environment that would depart from the utilitarian feel of many gyms. “We looked at each location with fresh eyes… to introduce a new type of fitness club into the Singapore CBD fitness scene that resonated as a premium and refined boutique experience,” shares Scavetta. Orbit’s take on the fitness space typology is certainly a refreshing spin in the right direction.

Photography by Owen Raggett