Azzurra Fitness Club: a warm, friendly space designed for all

The Polisportiva Azzurra sports centre in the town of Cisterna di Latina in the central Italian region of Lazio boasts three fitness class rooms, a weights and cardio room, a swimming pool and comfortable changing rooms. Founded in 1988 through the merger of several separate sports clubs, Azzurra expanded its range of services over the years to embrace a wide range of fitness and aquatics courses. As a result, it became necessary to reorganise the spaces in terms of architecture, aesthetics and functionality. The reception area was redesigned with the front desk facing the entrance and suitably equipped to perform customer management and surveillance activities. «The architectural project reorganized the entire facility and relocated 70% of the areas so as to optimise the use of the surfaces and enhance their functionality,» explained architect Anna Palucci. «Customer flows from the entrance onwards were also improved. The project combined aesthetics and functionality to create a fitness space where it is a pleasure to train, relax and socialise. The interior design was inspired by an urban style with a touch of charm.» This concept involved the use of decorative partitions and steel mesh screens. Natural coloured iron was also chosen for the other furnishings and design details, which together with the porcelain panels from the Acidic 120×240 cm series by Fondovalle in colours Iron and Metal Color highlight the company’s signature light blue colour. «The decorative partitions are used in the cardio fitness and weights room to divide up the spaces according to the type of training activity,» explains Anna Palucci. «Partitions clad with Acidic porcelain panels divide up the 260-square-metre open space into four smaller areas of different sizes and colours devoted to different activities.»
Considerable attention was devoted to the functionality of the changing rooms, which were moved from their existing location to another area of the club. The furnishings were all constructed with scratch-resistant surfaces and waterproof panels. «By using non-slip porcelain floor tiles in the toilets and showers we were able to create a sloping floor to allow water to drain from the showers and to facilitate cleaning, avoiding the need for shower trays which can be problematical,» observes Palucci. The lighting system played a very important role not just for illumination but also as an interior design element in its own right, helping to create an appropriate ambience in each different area of the club.