Of the numerous design projects circulating around the world of hôtellerie, Elle’s Magazine Grand Hotel stands out as a platform for innovation, showcasing the up-and-coming trends and voices in architecture and design.
Among these voices is the international studio of Matteo Thun & Partners, which featured in the 2019 issue with a distinct approach focused on the physical and mental wellness of the guests, titled “design therapy”. As the studio explains, this idea “looks to fuse the aesthetics of hospitality with a curation influencing the relationship between physical space and wellness, where nature, guests, and human beings are placed center stage”. With the concept of design therapy at the core of the project, it is only natural that a collaboration between Matteo Thun’s studio and kenko was formed. In a space usually reserved for bulky equipment and grey mechanical machines, this area is ruled by the calmness of earthy tones and natural materials. The subtle, almost subdued presence of kenko’s various workout equipment lends this usually uninviting space an appealing quality. Between the aesthetic of the dark expanders and the elongated wooden dumbbells, the gym is transformed into a functional gallery, a healthy place for both the body and mind to practice. In this collaboration, kenko’s philosophy of returning to natural forms quitely complements the project’s core concept of design therapy, presenting a compelling vision for the hotel/spa gym area, of which we will certainly see more in the future.