Original Feelings Yoga Studio
Basic information
Project Title
Category
Project Description
The design of this boutique yoga studio is based on the idea of flow - a term used in yoga practice to describe a sense of fluid movement and meditation. Within the space, these ideas manifest through smooth transitions between different areas and the extensive use of malleable materials such as fabrics and hempcrete. The color palette is muted, with a focus on materiality and texture created in collaboration with the two emerging artists Yasmin Bawa and Viennese painter Denise Rudolf Frank.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
The design of this boutique yoga studio is based on the idea of flow - a term used in yoga practice to describe a sense of fluid movement and meditation. Within the space, these ideas manifest through smooth transitions between spaces and the extensive use of malleable materials such as fabrics and hempcrete. The entrance opens up onto a large reception area with a central desk doubling up as an occasional bar. A reconfigurable sofa follows the soft curve of a large screen acting as a space divider. On one side a large water fountain reminds visitors to wash their hands while the other side leads into the practice rooms.
The color palette is muted, with a focus on materiality and texture created in collaboration with two emerging artists. The front desk and water fountain were created in collaboration with emerging designer Yasmin Bawa, using a custom process of a hempcrete structure finished with pigmented lime plaster to create high quality surface textures. The large scale privacy screen separating the lounge area from the changing rooms was painted by the young Viennese Artist Denise Rudolf Frank.
Designed and built during the global pandemic, Original Feelings Yoga studio allows for plenty of personal space, ventilation and safety protocols to be in place. It serves as a place of community in the local neighborhood, bringing together like-minded individuals in finding their flow for both spiritual and physical enlightenment.
Key objectives for sustainability
We collaborated with emerging designer Yasmin Bawa to use hempcrete in building the front desk and water fountain. Hempcrete, which is also called hemplime, is a light but strong and very durable material that is made from 100% natural ingredients: a mixture of hemp shives and lime as a base binder. It is fire-resistant, reusable and aligns with the cradle-to-cradle philosophy. Hempcrete is seen to have a huge potential in moving towards more sustainable building materials and has seen an increased use in recent years in the form of e.g. hempcrete bricks. By collaborating with Yasmin Bawa to build sculptural furniture pieces using a custom process of a hempcrete structure finished with pigmented lime plaster, we created an exemplary use of the material for interior architecture but also highlighted the beautiful aesthetics of this sustainable material. We believe that there is great potential in taking advantage of some of the principles behind sustainable design and embed them into the formal language of a project.
Except for the bathrooms, there are no walls in the entire studio. Textile curtains are used as adjustable room dividers – saving building resources, making the studio easily adaptable and allowing different future usages of the space without costly and wasteful demolition of interior walls.
Due to strict regulations in Germany with regards to fire safety in public spaces, we were faced with the challenge of finding textiles that meet both safety and sustainability requirements. Both for the curtains and the sofa we chose polyester-based materials which are flame retardant through and through, not needing the environmentally harmful flame retardant treatment of natural combustible materials.
For the room divider and the substructures of the water fountain and reception desk, we used local woods: oak and spruce. The oak was treated only with oil to allow its beautiful natural features to shine through and guarantee a high degree of reusability.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The design of this boutique Yoga studio is based on the idea of flow - a term used in yoga practice to describe a sense of fluid movement and meditation. Within the space, this idea manifests through smooth transitions between different areas and the extensive use of malleable materials such as fabrics and hempcrete. The studio is designed as a spacious sanctuary with bulbous shapes, oversized artworks, soft surfaces and subdued finishes making you feel like you enter a sacred space or gallery rather than a typical yoga studio.
Flow is interpreted as a literal physical quality: There are no walls in the entire space (except for the bathrooms), all spatial divisions are achieved through curtains, scrims and strategically positioned furniture allowing for smooth transitions. To keep the space as open as possible, the circulation of visitors was organized around multiple freestanding objects. Curved forms, organic surfaces and lots of fabrics soften the otherwise almost austere space. They also help with acoustics, an important feature in a yoga studio.
The color palette is muted with a focus on materiality and texture created in collaboration with two emerging artists. The front desk and water fountain were created in collaboration with Yasmin Bawa, using a custom process of a hempcrete structure finished with pigmented lime plaster to create the high quality surface textures. The "floating canvas" mural which doubles as a large scale privacy screen separating the lounge area from the changing rooms was painted by the young Viennese Artist Denise Rudolf Frank.
Original Feelings serves as an example of how collaboration between architects and artists can translate into a uniquely aesthetic and simultaneously functional spatial experience. By creating design elements specifically tailored to the artists’ practice it allowed us to include their works as an integral part of the design that goes beyond mere “decoration”.
Key objectives for inclusion
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. We believe in the transformative power of working and learning together and aim to include experts (artists, designer, craftsmen, etc.) in our work at Some Place Studio as much as possible and give their work the opportunity to become an integral part of the design itself. For Original Feelings we worked closely with young Viennese painter Denise Rudolf Frank and emerging designer Yasmin Bawa who specializes in working with hempcrete.
The front desk and water fountain were created in collaboration with the latter using a custom process of a hempcrete structure finished with pigmented lime plaster. The overall shape of the front desk, the water fountain and the technical drawing for a basic scaffolding were designed and planned by Some Place Studio. From there on Yasmin Bawa took over and started her 6 week long process of finishing the objects on site. It was a unique opportunity for us as well as for Yasmin Bawa, since she never worked on such a big scale on site – it was very special to see the sculptural furniture pieces develop every day.
Young artists are often overlooked and it usually takes many years for them to be able to contribute to public spaces, which is why it was particularly important to us to collaborate with Denise Rudolf Frank (*1993) on the “floating canvas” mural for Original Feelings. It allowed us to support her early on in her career both with a financial opportunity and through the wide-spread recognition that this project received in the media.
Given that our client was a private investor and the possibilities for public participation were limited, we believe that Original Feelings is a wonderful example of how co-design and collaboration between various artistic disciplines were essential to the project’s unique character and its ultimate success.
Results in relation to category
Even though Original Feelings was initiated by a private investor, its purpose always went beyond mere profit – instead its goal was to create a place of community that can be enjoyed by the many. The initial brief clearly stated that Original Feelings is thought of as a “home base” that both teachers and local yogis of all levels could belong to and come together in. Accordingly, we designed the studio to serve as a spacious sanctuary with soft surfaces and subdued finishes making guests feel like they enter a sacred space. The adaptable open floor plan enables various temporary usages such as holding small events or gatherings. By involving both a local designer and an international artist in the project we created an opportunity for their works to be enjoyed by the wider community in Berlin-Kreuzberg, allowing studio guests to experience current cultural dynamics and sustainable craftsmanship in their everyday lives.
Ultimately, this project also shows how architects and private investors can work together on a small scale to create public spaces in the local neighborhood in addition to the public spaces designed and run by governmental organizations. In a neighborhood like Berlin-Kreuzberg, which has been a cultural hub for a while, Original Feelings is a great fit in terms of demographics with the many young people and families living there. The studio now serves as a place of community in the local neighborhood, bringing people together in a place for both spiritual and physical enlightenment.
How Citizens benefit
From the start, Original Feelings was conceptualized to be as collaborative as possible by including citizens beyond the typical professionals involved in building projects. Including artists to the benefit of the overall project was an important step in aligning Original Feelings with our ethos of collaboration. We truly believe that the yoga studio only turned out to be such a success because it was not only us architects working on the design. It was a wonderful experience not only for us but also for the artists involved based on the feedback we received from them. We feel that further involvement of citizens and civil society was limited due to the private nature of the client. However, the success of the project gives us the possibility to further expand public collaboration in future projects as we strive to design thoughtful places where people come together.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
Original Feelings Yoga Studio is innovative in two major aspects: the use of the sustainable building material hempcrete in interior architecture to create furniture pieces and the collaboration with artists of different fields as an integral part of the design and building process.
In the collaboration with emerging designer Yasmin Bawa and young Viennese painter Denise Rudolf Frank we aimed to make their work an integral part of the design itself to enhance it beyond mere “decoration” – as is often the case in interior architecture when artworks are added in as a “final touch”. The artists’ work is essential to both the aesthetic and functional dimension of the yoga studio, getting the space and recognition it deserves. Original Feelings sets an example of how co-design and collaboration between various artistic disciplines guarantee a project’s unique character and its ultimate success.
Working with emerging designer Yasmin Bawa on the creation of the fountain and reception desk we were able to demonstrate an exemplary use of hempcrete in interior architecture and furniture building. We highlighted the formal qualities of this sustainable material and inspired new use cases for hempcrete.
We believe that the innovative character of these two aspects of Original Feelings is one of the main reasons for the wide-spread media coverage that the project received.
Learning transferred to other parties
As an architecture practice our vision is to champion a hybrid, nimble, and democratized model of architectural design and information sharing. We aim to have a knowledge sharing component for 70% of our projects — both physical and virtual — in whatever media best suits the project; whether that be a digital booklet, lecture, discussion group, showcase, informational video or short informational posts etc. For Original Feelings we had the opportunity to share the project in detail at various international lectures, for example at The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture currently based in Arcosanti, Arizona or during the Future Architect Conference. We focussed on explaining how we designed the hempcrete objects in collaboration with Yasmin Bawa, sharing technical drawings as well as encouraging listeners to be open for a process of co-design with other creative experts. We further focussed on reaching out to various media outlets with Original Feelings to reach a larger audience – making sure that as many people as possible become aware of and get inspired by hempcrete and its potential in both sustainability and aesthetics. As a small practice we do not always have the capacity to create detailed project manuals after the fact, yet if approached or requested we are happy to share knowledge in more detail. As we grow our team our goal is to continuously dedicate more time to the knowledge sharing component of our work.
