Designer Forum: A variety of performance floorcoverings offers both form and function in a renowned health club’s redesign – April 2024

By Kaleena Vasilik

In 2019, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, a Forbes Four-Star property, commenced a $45 million transformative journey to elevate its luxury lifestyle amenities within its lush, 27-acre campus in Houston, Texas. Founded on the idea that one can work hard, play hard and stay healthy in one place, The Houstonian’s club and spa are a prized highlight of the property.

To offer a world-class, tailored experience for the club’s members and guests, the team responsible for the club’s update-Fabiano Designs-focused on a complete overhaul of the 70,000-square-foot amenity, combining flooring from Shaw, Mohawk, Ecore, Gerflor and Artistic Tile to create a seamless yet distinct space that elevates both form and function across its many different components. With such a variety of spaces with unique needs, Ecore became an invaluable partner for the project, thanks to its wide range of performance products.

THE BRIEF
Located in the bustling Galleria area, The Houstonian has a rich history entwined with the city’s culture and social tapestry, offering timeless elegance and sophisticated décor. Working closely with the overall campus design team and The Houstonian’s management team, Fabiano Designs created a complementary aesthetic direction for the club’s campus. There is a continued theme of hospitality, sophistication and beautiful accents that both the club and hotel share. Ultimately, however, the club’s finish and product selections also had to accommodate each individual area’s programming at the highest level, such as a yoga floor, for example.

The club’s renovation involved opening up its overall layout to develop areas for socializing and connecting, while also updating the group exercise studios and other fitness spaces alongside operational areas such as childcare and food and beverage. Combining programming spaces with social nodes, the team discovered major opportunities to elevate the building aesthetics as well as improve the overall experience for the members, both programmatically and functionally. Each space had very specific considerations, and the design team wanted to not only provide for the current functions but also improve each space for continued and future success.

Once the project was underway, challenges in finding appropriate spaces to accommodate the programming while also meeting the budget became obvious. After ample consideration was made and multiple design strategies were explored, a radical plan was presented. The entire first floor of activities was to be reorganized with the elimination/relocation of the sports courts there. Removing the racquetball courts was a straightforward decision due to declining usage nationwide; however, reimagining the basketball court-a sentimental favorite among some vocal members-posed a challenge.

Situated under a stunning skylight and central to the club’s layout, the basketball court needed to be circumvented for access to the rest of the facility. The team’s solution was to split the space: half would become a double-decked area with studios below and a functional turf above, while the other half would be transformed into a sunlit piazza dedicated to social activities for members.

Ultimately, four of the club’s previous group exercise studios were completely rebuilt, and two were added for small-group training and private lessons. This includes two multipurpose group exercise studios, one cycling studio, one yoga studio, a second private yoga studio with a yoga wall and aerial silks, and a Pilates Reformer/VersaClimber studio. The club’s fitness floor was expanded with the addition of the 4,100-square-foot indoor turf area, and the indoor basketball court was relocated. In addition, The Covery by The Houstonian Club was built to provide recovery services for members.

The club lobby and rotunda were also updated, and a new atrium was built with ample seating, connecting the main level to the second floor of the building. The atrium leads directly to The Houstonian’s newly renovated boutique, The Shop at The Houstonian, as well as a new restaurant and full-service bar concept called The Kitchen. The club restaurant has separate family and adult seating, with dining decks overlooking the pool complex.

THE FLOORING
One of the important considerations during this renovation was staying true to the club’s history and tying in the hospitality aspect, as The Houstonian Club is more than just fitness; it is also a large social connection point.

This translated into the tile selection and installation in the entrance and rotunda. The Fabiano team wanted a tile that had an aesthetic nod to the original limestone but in a contemporary and durable way. The atrium is accentuated with a large-scale porcelain tile with blue accents, Flow Sky from Artistic Tile, providing a soft color to complement the woods and neutral tones at play throughout the space.

The club’s main circulation paths and corridors were specified with two different colors of Mohawk Group’s Grown Up LVT. The team created a chevron pattern inset, with the concept of adding moments of interest and movement as one flows through the club.

Each fitness space was taken into careful consideration, as not every performance flooring is the same and functions for the correct program. The designers utilized an array of Ecore’s performance flooring offerings, including Rally, Monster, Beast and ForestRX, considering the thickness of each rubber to work with the function, equipment being used and the impact to not only the structure but also the member. They also considered slip resistance where required, as well as acoustics.

In the expansive turf area that was created in the large atrium space formerly occupied by the basketball court, they incorporated Ecore’s TurfX. The team considered the use of various types of equipment/functions as well as the use of sleds in order to select the appropriate turf thickness and grass stitch direction.

In the newly created yoga studio, they specified DuroDesign’s floating cork floor system with an acoustic underlayment. This allowed a new aesthetic approach instead of a traditional wood look, which gave the space an elegant and calming feel.

In the large group studio that services various types of group fitness, the design team opted for Junckers’ ProElite sports flooring system, creating a chevron pattern inset at the center of the space to tie back to the overall hospitality approach.

When it came to the kids’ areas, the design had to accommodate both a younger and older kids demographic, so the team turned to Gerflor for a sports floor sheet good with vibrant colors but also a soft impact for young children playing in the space: Taraflex Evolution/Sport M Plus. For the kids’ gym, Ecore’s Ecosurfaces rubber was the go-to solution to support highly active kids meandering through the space and tackling the “Ninja Warrior” course.

The conference rooms and lounge space of the member offices incorporate Shaw Contract’s Community carpet tile in Exchange and Back Weave to integrate a softer texture and pattern approach that ties into the overall club’s aesthetics. This also provides acoustic support while supporting facility maintenance due to the product being a carpet tile versus a broadloom.

THE IMPACT
There is a cohesive look and feel as one moves through the club and each individual space. Whether the main attraction or a hidden nook, all received extensive thoughtfulness when it came to the finish approach and selection.

The Houstonian is very thoughtful about its member experience. The level of consideration toward fitness and wellness ranges beyond the traditional fitness club. This starts with the programs provided in addition to just fitness, like mindfulness, recovery and nutrition. The renovation of the club has now provided connection points and social nodes that contribute to the sociability of fitness.

The team at Fabiano Designs fully appreciates that social connections create a huge health benefit as we age. Members can come to the club to grab a smoothie before a spin class, then step out to the turf area and stretch, meet a group of friends down in the atrium for a coffee or head over to the restaurant for a bite.

The Houstonian’s holistic approach of mind, body and social fun for its members is a critical part of wellbeing in today’s culture. The club has not only been an important success for its members, but a huge financial success, as well. As a result of careful consideration of the redesign, input from staff, members and consultants, the restaurants and shops are projected to triple their revenue. Meanwhile, the cost of the renovations has been recouped as membership demand has reached an all-time high, with a growing waiting list to join the club.

Copyright 2024 Floor Focus

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