Project Name
Balboa Bar & Gym
Posted in
Bars, Architecture, Health and Beauty
Location
Am Schanzengraben 19
8002 Zurich
Switzerland
Visit Website
Architecture Practice
helsinkizurich Architects
Client
Renzo Balboa AG
Completed
2016
Detailed Information
Project NameBalboa Bar & GymPosted inBars, Architecture, Health and BeautyLocation
Am Schanzengraben 19
8002 Zurich
Switzerland
Visit WebsiteArchitecture Practicehelsinkizurich ArchitectsClientRenzo Balboa AG
Completed2016

Zurich’s banking district welcomes Balboa Gym & Bar, a new fitness hangout that aims to become more than just a place for yuppies to train after work. Founded three years ago by Erich Züger, a disenchanted banker-turned-gym-devotee, Balboa is a fitness brand that brings together personalised training with fostering a community of like-minded people evident in the new Balboa flagship on Am Schanzengraben Street which combines training areas, a bar-café that serves snacks and alcohol, and a concept store selling fitness equipment, books and even skateboards. 

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Designed by architecture studio helsinkizurich, the industrial, clean cut Balboa Gym & Bar featuring exposed concrete, leather and metal, spans two storeys: the bar occupies the ground floor with the training areas are located in the basement below (large openings on the bar’s floor create a visual connection with the training studios). As for committing the hybris of serving unhealthy alcoholic drinks in a fitness establishment, Balboa’s founder says that it’s more important to allow different aspects of urban life to collide and see what kind of new experiences can come about from this exchange. In any case, Rocky would have approved.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Photo by Jochen Splett.

Balboa Gym & Bar in Zurich by helsinkizurich Architects

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