Building Bodies, Constructing Selves
Fitness gymnasiums shape subjects and establish communities. The extraordinary rise in the number of high-end, architect-designed fitness gymnasiums responds to, and accelerates market demand as individuals adapt to societal expectations. Yet going to the gym is not experienced as an external direct...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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TU Delft OPEN Publishing
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Footprint |
| Online Access: | https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/3441 |
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| author | Sandra Louise Kaji-O'Grady Sarah Manderson |
| author_facet | Sandra Louise Kaji-O'Grady Sarah Manderson |
| author_sort | Sandra Louise Kaji-O'Grady |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fitness gymnasiums shape subjects and establish communities. The extraordinary rise in the number of high-end, architect-designed fitness gymnasiums responds to, and accelerates market demand as individuals adapt to societal expectations. Yet going to the gym is not experienced as an external directive. It is felt as a desire to be one’s best, to live fully, to succeed. The central role played by design is to (re)produce the desire to voluntarily subject oneself to regimes of self-control and self-transformation. This article looks at how the diverse architecture and interior design of the fitness gymnasium creates this desire and constructs subject positions. Today’s gymnasiums reference elements of bathhouses, spas, surgical clinics, sanatoria, monasteries, discotheques and nightclubs, factories, homes, clubs, hotels, S&M dungeons, massage parlours, beauty salons, cafés, and, even, art galleries – albeit not all in one space. We analyse the richly diverse aesthetics of several commercial chains of gymnasiums and explore the affective experiences established through the manipulation of atmospheric qualities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dc49a3697861479f934569379e5340a8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1875-1504 1875-1490 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | TU Delft OPEN Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Footprint |
| spelling | doaj-art-dc49a3697861479f934569379e5340a82025-02-03T05:58:02ZengTU Delft OPEN PublishingFootprint1875-15041875-14902019-12-0113210.7480/footprint.13.2.3441Building Bodies, Constructing SelvesSandra Louise Kaji-O'Grady0Sarah MandersonUniversity of QueenslandFitness gymnasiums shape subjects and establish communities. The extraordinary rise in the number of high-end, architect-designed fitness gymnasiums responds to, and accelerates market demand as individuals adapt to societal expectations. Yet going to the gym is not experienced as an external directive. It is felt as a desire to be one’s best, to live fully, to succeed. The central role played by design is to (re)produce the desire to voluntarily subject oneself to regimes of self-control and self-transformation. This article looks at how the diverse architecture and interior design of the fitness gymnasium creates this desire and constructs subject positions. Today’s gymnasiums reference elements of bathhouses, spas, surgical clinics, sanatoria, monasteries, discotheques and nightclubs, factories, homes, clubs, hotels, S&M dungeons, massage parlours, beauty salons, cafés, and, even, art galleries – albeit not all in one space. We analyse the richly diverse aesthetics of several commercial chains of gymnasiums and explore the affective experiences established through the manipulation of atmospheric qualities.https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/3441 |
| spellingShingle | Sandra Louise Kaji-O'Grady Sarah Manderson Building Bodies, Constructing Selves Footprint |
| title | Building Bodies, Constructing Selves |
| title_full | Building Bodies, Constructing Selves |
| title_fullStr | Building Bodies, Constructing Selves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building Bodies, Constructing Selves |
| title_short | Building Bodies, Constructing Selves |
| title_sort | building bodies constructing selves |
| url | https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/3441 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sandralouisekajiogrady buildingbodiesconstructingselves AT sarahmanderson buildingbodiesconstructingselves |