Hercules Fitness by Cun FF Fang Fei in Kunming, China

Project: Hercules Fitness
Architects: Cun FF Fang Fei
Location: Haile World Shopping Center, Kunming, China
Area: 86,111 sq ft
Year: 2022
Photos: INSPACE

Hercules Fitness by Cun FF Fang Fei

Fitness is considered the embodiment of progressive concepts such as self-discipline and restraint. A gym is usually perceived as a physical space for modern people seeking to address their health concerns and fitness issues in this place, to exhaust their bodies.

Hercules (Greek Ηρακλής, Hēraklēs) is a legendary Greek hero and immortal demi-god with extraordinary strength, courage, wisdom, and ability. It is said that "he made the world safe for humanity." Founded in 2021, Hercules Fitness adheres to the business philosophy of "Sports, Life and Warmth".

CUN FF Fang Fei took on the task of designing the tenth Hercules Fitness store. After communicating with the client, designer Fang Fei deeply understood the business philosophy of "Sports, Life and Warmth", making Hercules Fitness a place that creates a difference in daily life. This is another attempt to break routine and ignite new inspiration for design.

Exercise and Leaving Space for Life

In life, there are many small things, and people are busy sending emails, attending meetings, keeping records, and eating. When we're too busy breathing, we need to move more.

Let's move away from our surroundings and leave room for our own lives.

Designer Fang Fei believes that the space for exercise differs from other commercial spaces. It doesn't require overly bright decoration but should return the space to those who train. It must be controlled, rational and restrained—like sports itself. Therefore, the 4500-square-meter fitness space is characterized by minimalist lines, a restrained black-and-white palette, and clear functional zoning. All designs are based on the concept of "leaving space".

The 4500-square-meter area serves as a Pilates class, a reverse-flow pool, a free-weight zone, a relaxation area, and a multi-functional training gym. A key design feature is the reception desk and ceiling of the free-weight zone, where geometric blocks made from profiled steel sheets with a strong sense of form turn the power and speed of sports into a concrete design language, creating an impactful visual scene with spiritual strength. The light fixtures embedded in the clean white blocks solve lighting issues.

In addition to geometric ceiling blocks, mirrored glass can be seen everywhere in the space, blurring boundaries and expanding the view.

The closed high-transparent glass Pilates class features a natural wooden floor and wood-toned walls, creating a friendly, warm, and comfortable atmosphere. The space is as simple, calm, and kind as Pilates exercises.

Life with Warmth

When fitness becomes a way of life, people also gain a more active social field. At this point, sport is no longer just sport. Considering the social needs of the younger generation, designer Fang Fei established several "social zones" in Hercules Fitness. In the multi-functional training gym, black-and-white color is consistently used as the main tone of the space, and benches are specially added at the entrance to create a resting area for friends' waiting, breaks, or conversations.

The semi-standard reverse-flow pool is an important part of the fitness space. Designer Fang Fei created a richly layered ceiling design where linear lighting reflects off the pool, making the water appear moving and shimmering like a galaxy.

After training comes the changing room area. The 2-meter extra-large built-in wardrobe easily accommodates large items and fits perfectly against the wall, maintaining a sense of order in the space. A specially equipped self-service washing machine makes guests feel warmly served.

In fact, this is not the first collaboration between Fang Fei and Hercules Fitness. Last year, Fang Fei designed the Hercules Fitness Gemdale store. It was precisely due to this previous collaboration that Hercules Fitness gained a very clear and recognizable brand, thus attracting more loyal customers with the same interests. Therefore, the Hercules Fitness World store is a re-launch based on the Gemdale store. Through repeated collaboration between designer and owner, this 4500-square-meter Hercules Fitness World store will serve more people and provide better fitness services. At the same time, it will also attract more customers, enhance commercial value of the space, and advance more business goals of the owner.

-Project description and images provided by CUN FF