The great indoors

PHOTOGRAPHY JAMIE THOM

In Greek mythology, Olympus was the name of the home of the 12 Olympian gods of the ancient Greek world. It was conceived of as a lofty mountaintop, and in all of the regions that the Greek tribes settled in, they named the highest local elevation Olympus.

Fittingly, Olympus in the East of Pretoria is situated on the Southern slopes of the Bronberg, part of the Magaliesburg mountain range and now home to the training grounds for future Olympians: a new Planet Fitness Signature, designed by W Design Architecture Studio.

Until the early 2000s, Olympus was agricultural land, but over the past 20 years it has densified and developed into a residential suburb with a combination of townhouse complexes, residential estates and freehold homes.

This project is viewed as part of the next phase of the development or “settling in” of the suburb in which ancillary functions to the predominantly residential grain become viable, including retail, offices, schools and, in this case, leisure.

The concept for the Olympus Planet Fitness was to focus on the world outside the building: the views, sunlight, shadows, time of day and the general context.

The conceptual idea and inspiration for the design of this project was to focus on the world outside the building: the views, sunlight, shadows, time of day and the general context. Exercising outdoors is thought to improve energy levels and decrease stress to a greater extent than working out inside – but if your habitat is more concrete jungle than open landscape, this fitness centre provides all the internal functional spaces and facilities of an urban gym, and directs awareness and

enhances a sense of connection to the world outside. Thus, the architects dubbed the concept ‘The Great Indoors’.

The building is a strong new presence in a growing suburb, enriching the visual character and atmosphere of its setting, and also encouraging pedestrian life on the street.

A defining aspect of Pretoria’s new suburbs is the isolated and abandoned streetscapes. Most developments are hidden behind a protective layer of solid boundary walls with controlled security access points. This project represents one of the first “public” buildings in the suburb. The entire building opens, visually, toward the street. The internal spaces allow engagement with the sidewalk, the street and the world beyond, while also allowing public connection back into the constantly moving and active internal areas that now form part of the sidewalk and, by implication, the suburb.

As one of the first ‘public’ buildings in the suburb, the internal spaces allow engagement with the sidewalk while also allowing public connection back into the constantly moving and active internal areas.

This building is completely outward focussed in all its primary functions. At the same time, it is a strong new presence in a growing suburb. If we measure the health of a community by the vitality of its streets, then this project has already contributed to the daily life of the residents – not only by enriching the visual character and atmosphere of its setting, but also by allowing pedestrian life on a street where previously only cars were seen.

As the famous Canadian urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs said, “Streets and their sidewalks, the main public spaces of a city, are its most vital organs.”