features
Changing rooms: Changing places
There’s no longer a ‘one size fits all’ approach to changing rooms: they need to uphold an operator’s brand qualities and complement the overall look and feel of a club. Health Club Management takes a look at some recent installations
DEFINING THE BRAND
Client: I LOVE FITNESS
Supplier: M Fitness/Foreman Lockers
I LOVE FITNESS is a contemporary chain of health clubs in Russia, described as Russia’s equivalent of Virgin Active by Harry Harris, MD of M Fitness, which owns Foreman Lockers. The clubs have embraced current trends including boxing and MMA and use Moscow DJs to create the vibe.
“The style of the clubs goes against the norm in Russia, with a more Western approach,” says Harris. “They wanted locker rooms that were cheeky and sexy, and that continued the personality of the brand, creating something that was special and different.”
In contrast to the décor usually favoured in Russia, I LOVE FITNESS is bright and colourful, using lime green and yellow. The brief also specified lots of different locker areas: the common area, a children’s area, and a VIP area. The lockers had to be the same high quality across the facility, but also help differentiate each area.
“By using different designs, colours and finishes, we were able to create very clear differences between each changing area. The result looks a lot more expensive than it actually was,” says Harris.
A Foreman speciality is putting images on lockers. Here, designers Lab 17 made it look like naked people are inside. “This locker style is now a defining part of their brand,” adds Harris.
COMBINED ACCESS CARD
Client: GLL/Better
Supplier: Safe Space Lockers & Ojmar
Space was at a premium at the GLL-run Charlton Lido, which meant that every square foot had to be maximised. For this reason, lockers were put in the gym as well as the changing rooms, which meant they had to fit with the new gym floor and new Technogym equipment.
Safe Space Lockers provided stylish wood and glass lockers, which Ojmar complemented with a key-free OTS lock using its RFID system.
One crucial feature was that Ojmar’s partnership with Technogym meant that Technogym wellness keys could be used with the OTS locks, meaning gym members could have just one key for lockers, membership, fitness management and access into the facility.
“Previously, people would need a pound for a locker, a membership card, cash and a key, but the Technogym key allows all these technologies to be stored on one neat item,” says Bev Sharpe from Ojmar.
“This system also saves money as the key belongs to the member – if it’s lost, they have to pay for a replacement. With an old-style £1 deposit locker, if the customer takes or loses the key and wristband, this has to be paid for and managed by the site. This can cost thousands of pounds over the course of a year.”
A simple path-finding reader is sited near the lockers, reminding members which locker they have used. Additionally, the automatic opening of the lockers at the end of the day stops customers from reserving them and maximises space, as all lockers are made available.
MADE TO MEASURE
Client: Rambert Dance Company
Supplier: Kemmlit
One of the UK’s foremost dance institutions, Rambert Dance Company, created a new £8m headquarters on London’s South Bank last December.
The facility includes three large dance studios, workshops, technical and administration facilities and changing rooms. There’s also a dance archive and a reading room, both of which are open to the public.
Architects Allies Morrison specified a high build quality and the changing rooms had to be in keeping with this. The architects asked Kemmlit for 60 made-to-measure lockers in a variety of sizes and colours, to accommodate all the different needs of dancers, including large bags and even some places to keep prosthetic limbs.
Corian tiles, glass cubicles, slatted solid beach seating and a mix of yellow, blue and white lockers were used to create a high quality finish.
“This project presented us with a number of challenges,” says Julian Lidstone, head of Kemmlit’s UK operation. “For example, the client wanted to incorporate coat hooks on the outside of the lockers, while retaining strength, and we had to manufacture in different sizes and colours within a tight timeframe.”
WORKING THROUGH THE NIGHT
Client: The Hogarth Club
Supplier: Craftsman Quality Lockers
Gaining access to the changing areas was the main problem when upmarket west London health club The Hogarth Club decided to update its changing rooms last year, bringing them in line with the rest of the club, which had enjoyed a number of recent investments.
“The old changing rooms and showers, fitted out about nine years ago, looked tired and dated and we realised we had to upgrade them to a standard in keeping with our members’ extremely high expectations,” says Ian Chaffey, the health club’s operations director.
The club’s interior design team worked closely with Craftsman Quality Lockers to create luxury changing areas with a subdued and relaxed ambience. A combination of three-quarter and half-height Maximiser style lockers were chosen, in a walnut finish. Light cream upholstery for the bench seating, and stone surfaces for the vanity and towel units, completed the look. A creative rethink of the available space created a number of discreet areas for changing.
The challenge was to complete the refurbishment without closing the changing rooms, which meant predominantly carrying out the work overnight. Sited in a prime residential area, the club also had to ensure noise levels were tightly controlled, while cleaning operators moved on-site early each morning to ready the club for opening at 6.00am.
“Refurbishing changing rooms from floor to ceiling presented a huge challenge, especially as our members’ expectations are high,” says Chaffey.
