Urban Kings Mixed Martial Arts Club and Gym in Kings Cross, London.

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Urban Kings was to be a new gym for London, something different, combining the typical gym with mixed martial arts. We were asked to make the space feel urban and raw, gritty, yet highly bespoke, tailored, high-end. The central Kings Cross site was located below the occupied Railtrack office, the majority of the gym environment was below ground in a concrete shell.

 

The existing wall finish of the shell-space was shuttered concrete. It was well finished, crisp and had a rawness about it too. We sought to make the most of this, retaining the concrete where we could and replicating it’s finish in the basement floor. We used a polished screed to create a street-route through the gym from the studio areas to the bespoke staircase, connecting reception to the gym spaces below. Recessed lighting slots added further quality and drama, the work-spaces had sprung floors under matting, sitting flush with the polished screed flooring. We introduced sliding walls and mirror panels to allow for maximum studio flexibility, this allowed spaces to be opened up or closed down, depending on the class and the timetable. The changing spaces were closer to something that could be found at a bespoke tailors than a gritty Kings Cross gym.

 

Urban Kings was completed in 2010 and the main contractor was Scotscape Limited.