id sponsorship: For a private family home in Dubai Hills, Dubai and London-based architecture practice Anarchitect created a modern abode that befit their lifestyles and appreciation for luxury hospitality, wellness and social entertainment – with a contemporary home-gym outfitted in Technogym’s Personal Line collection.
“Homes are now required to fulfill many more requirements than previously, to also cater for home working and in-particular, home wellness and sanctuary. This is somewhat inspired by the changes already seen in the hospitality sectors where common-spaces have become more flexible and multi-faceted but the complexity of working and exercising at home can be more complicated given size limitations or access to outdoor spaces or natural light,” Ashmore explains.
“For new-build or extensive renovation private residential projects, home gyms and wellness spaces have been a key client requirement for some time, but for smaller, London or Dubai inner-city properties we work on, where space is more premium and limited, clients now require a larger allocation of their existing space for home wellness, but with a level of flexibility designed in for adaptive re-use of the same space throughout the day,” he adds.
The home-gym and wellness spaces in this Dubai Hills residence are located on the lower-ground level with Anarchitect setting out to create a refined, confident and motivational feel through the use of materials and spatial planning.
Created using darker stone with a defined vertical texture for the walls, paired with a vibrat natural walnut timber ceiling and precise brushed stainless steel detailing throughout, it also features curated reflective glass and mirror surfaces to bounce natural light, create visual depth and perform the required function within the gym for the clients.
The home gym is split into two distinct areas; the square studio space at the far-side of the gym is focused on floor work (stretching and dynamic free-weights) and weight-training. The studio has two walls with full-height openable windows facing out towards the sunken courtyard and swimming pool over-flow allowing for filtered natural light throughout the day and also the calming sounds of running water.
“Given Anarchitect’s love for design, craft and detail and the perfect harmony with the residences ‘understated new-luxury’ concept, we were drawn to towards Technogym’s ‘Personal line’ collection of equipment beautifully designed in collaboration with Italian architect & designer Antonio Citterio,” Ashmore says.
“The collections particular use of brushed stainless steel, leatherwork detailing and expressive engineering was a natural choice for the project and the client, particularly as it also complimented Anarchitect’s design and curated materiality of the Dubai Hills Villa home gym.
“One of the Clients is a semi-professional race driver and sportscar aficionado, so performance and intense training is also part of his daily regime and passion. Working close with him and also the team at Technogym, the original selection of Personal-line equipment has subsequently grown to also include key pieces from the performance specific ‘Skill-line’ collection which is why we designed the home gym spaces to be as flexible and adaptable as possible to allow for growth and change over time,” he adds.
“Technogym’s Personal Line are beautifully crafted and can feel like pieces of furniture to easily incorporate into these spaces and still look great. Their digital integration also means that clients can monitor their own progress, engage in online coaching and classes and also incorporate a shorter, more intense home-workout into their daily life whilst also being able to monitor the number of steps or distance covered during the day to contribute to an overall balanced lifestyle where wellness is a natural and fluid part of their routine and one which I believe Technogym truly understands as part of their research and development,” Ashmore says.
