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Attention to detail: Each locker is individually aerated


people walked into the club from the busy Place de la Bastille.”


Lighting masterpiece The lighting is, in fact, the aspect of the club of which Gueguen is most proud, and you can see why. It’s gentle and calming – no glaring ‘you must work out now’ spotlights or fl uorescent strips – but at the same time it successfully creates an uplifting, positive feel throughout the club. The light is adjusted throughout the day to help maintain this sense of calm. Club Med Gym management worked


closely with architectural fi rm Studio Marc Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet to create distinct spaces throughout the club, each offering a different atmosphere – again helped by the lighting. As you walk down the stairs into reception, the lounge to the right is mellow and inviting. Next to the lounge, behind a glass wall, is the main group exercise studio – a lovely 130sq m, dark wood sprung- fl oored space where the lighting, although adjustable, never seems to interfere with the relaxed feel in the lounge. A second smaller, open-fronted studio space sits alongside, equipped by NOHrD for the stretching/core sessions, which maintains an intimate feel in spite of the lack of door. Meanwhile, in the changing rooms, you come to a relaxation area – featuring pale stone recliners and a waterfall wall – on the way to the sauna, steamroom and ice fountain. This area is peaceful and bright, but with such a warm light that it feels immediately soothing.


But the lighting pièce de resistance is located in the gym, which lies straight ahead as you come down the stairs into reception. The 74-station, Technogym- equipped fi tness suite uses the bold colour scheme of the entire club – black, granite, red, grey – with padded red leather pillars that splay out into round sofas at the bottom. But what grabs the attention is the far wall – a curved wall of light, overlaid with a mirrored tree motif, which is made brighter or darker depending on the light conditions outside; if it’s raining, the light in the gym is brighter. Not only is this very effective in creating a positive feeling, but the wall itself is a beautiful art installation. To the right of the gym lies a weights


area with heavier lifting options – Pure Strength from Technogym – benefi ting from cooler air conditioning. To break this space up further, so people don’t feel packed in together, there’s equipment at the bottom of a stairwell, more machines halfway up the stairs and more at the top. Beyond this weights area is a functional training zone – Pavigym fl ooring, an adidas punchbag (the club has an exclusive fi ve- year partnership with adidas for its staff uniforms), a Reebok rebounder and hooks for TRX suspension training – and a PT studio. Over 10 per cent of members currently do PT, at 70–80 an hour. As a result of all these distinct areas, while only 1,400sq m in size, the club feels larger – an effect which is assisted by the use of mirrors throughout. And with the uncramped layout of the gym, as well as


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the way space has been made for living areas, it’s easy to see how it’s successfully appealing to both experienced and new gym members, enticing people to work out as well as hang out at the club afterwards.


Expanding the brand So given his comments about the future of the fi tness sector being high-end, and the success of Pure Club Med Gym to date, what are Gueguen’s plans for the brand going forward? “I’d like to create more Pure Club Med Gym sites: depending on the demographics of the area, I’d prioritise Pure over standard Club Med Gyms. But as I’ve said before, it’s all about the location.


“One option might be to upgrade some of our Waou clubs, but that’s yet to be decided. We could also potentially upgrade some of our Silhouette clubs to launch the Pure brand in Switzerland. “But it all depends on fi nancing: 21 Centrale Partners, the private equity fund to which Club Med Gym currently belongs, has been instrumental in our expansion in the last fi ve years, allowing us to acquire Silhouette and open Pure Club Med Gym and the upcoming Club Med Gym in April. “Longer term, who knows? In my own


dreams, I’d like to go into new markets where there’s real potential – China, India. But even if that doesn’t happen, we have a strong urban concept, so at the very least I’d like to go into other European capital cities, as well as continuing to expand Pure Club Med Gym across Paris.” ●


February 2013 © Cybertrek 2013


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