Fight club: Studio Xoo brings design clout to a London boutique boxing gym
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Chin down, guard up – there’s a new contender in town. Recently opened in Aldgate, 12x3 is the latest boxing gym to step into London’s growing boutique fitness ring. The concept is simple: a dozen three-minute-long rounds encompass everything from stamina to speed and footwork. Friendly competitiveness is fostered in the compact class sizes, limited to one- and four-on-one training.
This small but perfectly formed boxing club is more than just good looks, thanks to its enviable sporting pedigree. 12x3 founders Darren Barker and Ryan Pickard first met at the East End’s storied Repton Boxing Club – Barker’s a world champion, while Pickard has captained for Repton and England. At 12x3, the pair have rallied a formidable roster of coaches, including former world champion Jason Mathews, and GB boxers Lisa Moore and Shelly Sweeney.
Inside, poured concrete, white metro tiles, and wood flooring lend the space an appealingly industrial character. ‘We wanted to create a studio that had the capability and specialism of dealing all of those touch-points – and that’s what we think we are on the way to achieving with this project for 12x3,’ Enting explains.
Pickard adds: ‘Studio Xoo created a brand that leverages the boxing ephemera of the 1960s and 70s but with a contemporary twist,’ explains Pickard. ‘The X in the logo is rendered like an hourglass, referencing the time-based system at the heart of our brand experience.’ Needless to say, it’s a winning combination.
The space and visual identity was conceived by New York-based Studio Xoo
Poured concrete, white metro tiles, and wood flooring imbue the space with an appealingly industrial character
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the 12x3 website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
76 Alie Street
London E1 8PZ
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Jordanluca’s latest collection is inspired by Freud’s death drive
Self-destruction, sabotage and teenage angst inform Jordanluca’s S/S 2023 collection, which explores the pursuit of dangerous pleasures
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Lufthansa offers double bedrooms in the sky, courtesy of PriestmanGoode
New Lufthansa First Class Suites offer more space and comfort than ever before, from ultra-wide seats to the ultimate product for privacy-seeking passengers: a full-sized double bed in a self-contained room
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Veil House balances openness and seclusion in Winnipeg
A large steel screen shields Veil House, a striking private residence in Winnipeg, Canada, designed by local practice 5468796 Architecture
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
The best gyms around the world for design buffs in 2018
By Mary Cleary • Last updated
-
Skate park design goes to the British seaside with Guy Hollaway’s F51
F51 is Folkestone's brand new, dedicated, multistorey skate park, courtesy of the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust and Hollaway Studio
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Community centre architecture redefined: Holborn House by 6a and Caragh Thuring opens
Holborn House by 6a Architects and Caragh Thuring opens for the Holborn Community Association in London, bridging art and community architecture with people at its heart
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Pink concrete skatepark is a striking urban landmark in the Chihuahuan Desert
A team of architects, landscape designers, sociologists and urban planners came together to create La Duna, a fine example of skatepark architecture on the northern border of Mexico
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Last chance to play: Yinka Ilori's colourful basketball court in Canary Wharf is a slam dunk
Artist and designer Yinka Ilori applied his signature colourful geometries to his design for this new public basketball court in Canary Wharf, London
By Rosa Bertoli • Last updated
-
Building muscle: London architecture walks and runs
Try these London architecture walks and runs for some physical and intellectual edification
By Simon Mills • Last updated
-
Janne Tuunanen captures modernist architecture of renovated Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Photographer Janne Tuunanen captures the sharp modernist architecture of the recently renovated Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland in his latest series
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Yinka Ilori’s colourful skatepark in France is a pillar of the community
Sport, street art and community merge in Yinka Ilori’s skatepark in Roubaix, project that is part of Lille’s World Capital of Design 2020
By Rosa Bertoli • Last updated