Affirming Bodies

Abstract

The fitness space ranges in shape and size, from gyms, health clubs to yoga studios spread across the globe, symbolizing an ongoing fitness revolution that has grown and expanded over the past century. Fitness values vary from person to person; however, they are constructed by a history of economic, gendered, and social structures which influence how we value certain notions of beauty and health. Thus, the gym becomes the site for conflict between different ideals of the body, in a paradoxical space shaped by discipline, play, and pleasure.

(Re)creation is a design proposal for a fitness gym/community center hybrid which revises the way we train our bodies in relation to our architectural surroundings, incorporating its walls, columns, and railings as tools for exercise, pushing and pulling our bodies, rather than simply being static objects within our vicinity. As the shape for our gym spaces is redefined, hopefully, we begin to question the individualistic and commodified nature of our current fitness industry. (Re)creation explores the potential of architecture to dismantle the often-advertised hegemonic ideal body by promoting inclusivity for all bodies and providing a constructive space for both training and play.