Lab

While some fitness fanatics are out to shrink in size, the wellness economy itself is swelling exponentially. Not only have health-related spaces upped their game – there’s more appeal, more design – the trend is also invading retail, hospitality, work and living. Follow THE FASHION OF FITNESS.

Supporting a total lifestyle through nutrition and exercise, STORAGE ASSOCIATI’s restoration of Dsquared2’s headquarters includes a restaurant, gym and spa.

Words JONATHAN OPENSHAW

OPPOSITE Storage Associati relied on timeless materials to achieve the sense of elegance that permeates Dsquared2’s spa.

CONTINUING THE BRAND’S expansion beyond high-end retail, Dsquared2’s headquarters in Milan saw the addition of a luxury spa and gym earlier this year. ‘It’s the latest stage of an overarching restoration of the historical Enel building,’ says Storage Associati cofounder Michele Pasini, who undertook the design for Dsquared2. ‘We’re creating a total lifestyle, moving from nutrition to health to fashion. It’s a very personal project based on what [brand founders] Dean and Dan Caten enjoy most in life. They like a nice place to have dinner with friends, so we have the restaurant on the roof. They like to look after their bodies, so we have the gym and spa. It’s all about what the Catens see as quality moments. They want to empower people to live a better life.’

The building’s penthouse level houses a poolside bar and a restaurant, Ceresio 7. Heading the kitchen is Elio Sironi, a chef known for his Mediterranean cuisine and attention to nutritional values. For the interior, Storage Associati’s architects worked together with another Milanese outfit, Dimore Studio. The restaurant, which opened in 2013, was their first step in the realization of a holistic lifestyle destination.

Spa and gym occupy three lower levels, one of which is underground. These facilities represent a new departure for a clothing brand best known for its playful collections and designer denim. Guests discover a grown-up air of opulent simplicity that harks back to the 1930s heyday of the building and espouses a fuss-free approach to health and fitness. Instead of the lurid colours and plastics so familiar to the patrons of contemporary gyms, Storage Associati’s design has the pared-back brutalist look of a space that’s been reduced to the bare essentials. ‘We hid all the mechanical systems and relied on materials to achieve a sense of elegance,’ says Pasini. ‘We wanted all that stuff to be in the background and to provide an experience that’s driven by beautiful, timeless materials and design elements.’

All non-loadbearing walls were removed from the cavernous gym area, which is dominated by Ceppo Lombardo stone. Flooring is made of black sprung rubber. The muted palette continues in teal-tinted glass, as well as in window and door frames in black-painted steel. Much of the gym equipment was supplied by Italian wellness giant Technogym; bespoke pieces range from wooden Olympic rings to bodyweight setups. It’s easy to imagine a mustachioed Milanese gentleman boxer taking his daily exercise here some 80 years ago. Expensive details in brass and hand-dyed okumè wood are complemented by basic materials such as raw concrete.

The spa may have a timeless aesthetic, but the designers are at pains to emphasize that it’s part of a more egalitarian project. Pasini explains that ‘it’s open to anyone who wants to be a member’ and that it’s meant ‘to feel open to the city and to the world’. They didn’t aim for the ‘exclusivity that you often see when brands make these kinds of spaces’. As well as the main gym floor and spa area, members have access to various treatment rooms, saunas, hammams and classes that range from barre and calisthenics to antigravity weightlifting and yoga.

‘Because luxury spending is shifting from stuff to experiences – and now to personal transformations – it makes sense for brands like Dsquared2 to put transformative experiences at the core of their offer,’ says Victoria Buchanan, strategic researcher at The Future Laboratory, a leading trend-forecasting consultancy. ‘Consumers have a growing desire to care for themselves in a holistic manner, which includes both physical and mental health. It’s a status thing, too; people who want to be perceived as caring about their bodies invest in transformative services.’ Dsquared2’s wellness centre is a clear investment in a future that combines looking good with feeling good. ●

storageassociati.com

Instead of the lurid colours and plastics often found in contemporary gyms, Storage Associati gave its design a pared-back brutalist look that’s been carried through to the shower rooms.