New Tokyo spa and health club merges tradition and luxury
by Kim Megson | 20 Jun 2016
Western and Japanese concepts of spatial definition and materiality merge in a newly opened spa and health club in Tokyo, designed by COE Architecture International.
Aqua Sports & Spa, which was completed this month for fitness operator Seta Sports Connection, is a six-storey, 6,000sq m (65,000sq ft) building in Setagaya-Ku ward. It replaces a 1980s facility, and has been designed to promote personal sports training, Japanese bathing and social activities “within a sophisticated environment equal to a five-star hotel.”
Fitness facilities include the only private 50-metre swimming pool in greater Tokyo, a gym, a spa lounge and traditional Japanese baths fed by onsen spring wells. Social elements include a lounge, bar, dining room and cafe with outdoor terrace.
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Sports and social spaces are divided into white and dark grey concrete volumes, which vary in scale related to their function to bridge the wide gap between a utilitarian fitness club and a luxurious hotel.
“We know there's a big expectation of newness and hospitality in Japan," studio founder Christopher Coe told CLAD. "When you’re in Tokyo in particular, the buildings that are most attractive to people are wonderful hotels and shopping centres because of the out-of-home experiences they offer. We wanted to create that feeling. This is not just a sports centre, and it's not just a cafe. It’s an opportunity to consolidate all those interesting social space together.”
The architects included many windows and used semi-transparent and welcoming materials for the building’s exteriors to create "a public presence" in response to the project’s dense urban site.
"An important component of our design was to bring bathing out into the open, so we raised the pool in the air to make it visible through the building from street level," said Coe. “Japan has a very big bathing culture which is almost religious. Bathing is usually such a private thing, it's not about putting yourself on display. We wanted to invert that idea. It was a fantastic opportunity to blur the lines between the public and the private, and bathing and sport, to create something completely different.”
spa health club Aqua Sporty and Spa japan Tokyo design architecture Christopher Coe Coe Architecture International
The architects also included many windows and used semi-transparent and welcoming materials for the building’s exteriors Credit: Norihito Yamauchi
Aqua Sports & Apa is a six-storey, 6,000sq m (65,000sq ft) building in Setagaya-Ku ward Credit: Kai Nakamura
The facility is designed to promote personal sports training, Japanese bathing and social activities Credit: Kei Takashima
The aim of the architect was to intehrate a traditional spa concept with the luxury of a five star hotel Credit: Kei Takashima
The spa has its own Japanese bath Credit: Kei Takashima
The centre's health club offers modern facilities for members Credit: Kei Takashima
Social elements include a lounge, bar, dining room and cafe with outdoor terrace Credit: Roland Hable
Coe International were the project architects Credit: Kunihiko Ishijima
The spa features an upstairs lounge and terrace so guests can relax after a workour Credit: Osamu Matsuba
The use of materials and form is an architectural response to the density of the surrounding area Credit: Roland Hable
The spa features a combination of health, fitness and leisure facilities Credit: Kei Takashima
Western and Japanese concepts of spatial definition and materiality merge in a newly opened spa and health club in Tokyo, designed by COE Architecture International. Aqua Sports & Spa, which was completed this month for fitness operator Seta Sports Connection, is a six-storey, 6,000sq m (65,000sq ft) building in Setagaya-Ku ward. It replaces a 1980s facility, and has been designed to promote personal sports training, Japanese bathing and social activities
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