This HK$158 million gym merges virtual technology with reality

Exercise has become an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle. For enthusiastic players who are into all sports, a virtual sports terrace which provides a versatile space may be their ideal private gym.

“We are on the cusp of a world where the virtual can enhance the everyday”, Kate Mann says. With more than 20 years of professional experience, Mann, the associate partner at Ennead Architects, is the creative mind behind a range of design projects, including the Vassar Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, the William H. Neukom Building at Stanford Law School, and the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.

She and her teammates – Stefani Fachini, Ursula Trost and Aidan Kim – have used virtual technology to create the perfect place for urban professionals who love exercise, the outdoors and community.

The Immersive Sports Terrace (IST) is nothing like an ordinary gym. 

“The IST is a garden pavilion [or outdoor sports terrace] with embedded, nearly invisible, technology, representing the realisation of the futuristic dream of seamless technology integrated into daily life,” Mann explains.

According to the architect, the terrace is an all-glass multifunctional space built into the landscape. It provides an immersive, three-dimensional experience which merges the virtual and the real, thanks to the latest glass technology and the integrated virtual gaming technology.

Laminated glass panels supported by innovative hardware, with minimal joints and maximum size, are used to enable maximum transparency. They also function as sliding or pivoting doors, allowing the environment to be open to the outside or to be fully enclosed. Mann explains that the use of operable glass “breaks down the barriers between inside and out by bringing technology outdoors”.

Adding to the surprise is the switchable function of the smart glass. Through the use of electric current, the glass is embedded with the ability to adjust levels of transparency, creating a unique indoor setting rather than a typical enclosed virtual reality environment. 

From completely transparent to open up the surrounding view, to fully opaque for total immersion, “the IST layers the virtual world over the real world”, Mann claims.