Hackney’s hip new gym Blok opens with focus on fitness, fighting and bone broth
Bare brick walls, tramlines, vaulted concrete ceilings and cast iron pillars hardly spell out the makings of a great gym, but Blok, London's latest workout space, begs to differ. It is precisely these features that first drew founders Ed Stanbury and Max Oppenheim to the Hackney space. 'The location, at the bottom of a cobbled road flanked by Victorian industrial units, is raw and unexpected,' explain the founders. 'It reminded us of locations in Berlin, where high-end restaurants and clubs can be found in utilitarian industrial estates.'
Set up in partnership with Reema Stanbury, their resident health and nutrition expert, the trio already had the conceptual foundations of their modern endeavour: a designer gym with a gallery space and cafe.
'As you enter through its large timber door, you arrive onto a gallery space,' explains interior designer Daytrip. Here, the fluorescent lighting installations inspired by the works of Dan Flavin and Robert Irwin light up the space in a field of colour – pinks, oranges, greens and blues – evoking illusions and playing with the block forms of the atrium and interior. The gallery makes a link between the café area, the studios and the changing rooms.
Housed in converted depot stores – with their original brickwork and cast iron structure still exposed – the two studios cater to different themes, denoted by the different colour gradiations of the lights outside them. Studio 1 focuses on functional fitness, strength and conditioning and boxing (cantilevered metal I-beams mounting retractable training equipment), while Studio 2 focuses more on the relationship between body and mind with a variety of yoga, pilates, barre and meditation classes.
Blok Café caters a simple yet functional service, both in food and furnishings. A bespoke kitchen table in Douglas fir and steel takes centre stage, a hot-rolled steel service counter with reeded glass screens beyond; both are robust yet raw. On the menu are a number of nutritious drinks and snacks from companies like cold-pressed juice brand Botanic Lab, East London coffee roasting company Square Mile Coffee, protein supplement providers Monkey Nutrition and – interestingly enough – the Borough Broth Company, known for their organic (and restorative) bone broth.
Sprint, the work of artist Arran Gregory hangs between the cafe and reception, complimenting the unusual geometry of the reception and perfectly reflecting the ethos of Blok. Clapton it seems, is stepping it up a notch – in health, in art and in design.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Blok London’s website
Photography: Max Oppenheim and Lou Rolley
ADDRESS
Blok
Clapton Tram Depot
38–40 Upper Clapton Road
London, E5 8BQ
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Inside Valentino’s glamorous new Sloane Street store, inspired by the art of haute couture
The latest in Valentino’s ‘The New Maison’ store concept opens on London’s Sloane Street this week, offering an enveloping marble and carpet-clad space of ‘intimacy and uniqueness’
By Jack Moss Published
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternatives
From the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
These London spas are utterly relaxing urban escapes
These London spas offer transformative treatments in awe-inspiring spaces for total relaxation in the midst of the big city
By Mary Cleary Published
-
London gyms for workouts with a wow factor
The best London gyms are easy on the eye and tough on muscles. Use our edit to choose the top spots for fitness classes, wellness offerings and post-workout pancakes
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
The best gyms around the world for design buffs in 2018
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Alex Eagle Sporting Club at 180 The Strand: from body rolling to sound escapes
Alex Eagle Sporting Club takes over 180 The Strand’s top floor, offering fitness classes and wellness and beauty therapies spanning the pioneering and the peculiar
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
-
New Berlin gym uses neuroscience to improve physical health
Hagius is a new Berlin gym that uses light and scent to create the optimal enviroment for your workout
By Mary Cleary 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