From the interior design of sports facilities to wellness spaces, contemporary architecture continues to experiment with incorporating different uses, installations, and materialities that make it possible to reach broader audiences, generate new spatial experiences, and enhance the simultaneous development of various activities. While each sport requires its own type of architecture, such as climbing training, for example, architecture and design professionals are striving to create atmospheres where exercise becomes more than just a physical experience, but also a psychological one, connecting mind and body through a state of physical renewal, relaxation, and sociability.
Exploring the psychological experience of exercise, Foolscap founding director Adèle Winteridge states that “there is a psychological state that one reaches before, during, and after exercising. Upon entering the gym, you’re still in public mode, the ‘self’ that is presented to the world. This is the phase in which the moment is built.” Although various studies demonstrate the beneficial effects of physical activity, its regular practice is known to increase self-confidence, a sense of well-being, and improve intellectual functioning, beyond its effectiveness in treating psychological disorders such as depression, stress, or anxiety, among others.
