designboom · Creativity & design

Rodolphe Parente and Marion Mailaender Revive 1985 Paris Sports Club Spirit

Architects Rodolphe Parente and Marion Mailaender have reimagined Paris' Ken Club, aiming to capture the essence of its 1985 identity in a contemporary setting.

The architects approached the renovation as an 'architectural remix,' sampling and reworking the visual language and atmosphere of the 1980s to create a space that feels like a film set built to last, rather than a direct replica.

The original Ken Club, founded in 1985, was a social hub for exercise and meeting. The renovation uses this history as a starting point, abstracting and redistributing 1980s references throughout the interior.

The interior features saturated colors, rounded forms, reflective surfaces, and theatrical contrasts between light and shadow, giving the spaces a sense of movement. Pale surfaces are juxtaposed with turquoise, yellow, pink, and green.

A patterned ceiling with irregular green forms on a yellow surface acts as a large graphic work, while circular openings in walls frame views between rooms, introducing a recurring motif of curved geometry.

The pool area incorporates blue surfaces and a large circular opening, reflecting the club's original design as a place where exercise and social life merged. Members move between training, swimming, resting, and meeting areas.

The project aims to connect with the original Ken Club's atmosphere without recreating its past appearance, resulting in an environment deliberately distinct from typical fitness spaces.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.