Territory Concrete, a range of prefinished cladding panels from Cemintel® met the aesthetic and functional objectives of the design team during the refurbishment of the Fitness First gym, The Zone, in Sydney.

One of the largest health club groups in the world, Fitness First operates more than 342 Fitness First clubs worldwide and has one million-plus members across 15 countries. In Australia, Fitness First has 78 clubs with approximately 240,000 members.

Following their acquisition by Oaktree Capital Management in 2012, the health club chain began a period of rebuilding and change, starting with the launch of a new concept gym in partnership with opr Health called ‘The Zone’ in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. Based on the principles of dynamic movement training, The Zone offered six distinct ‘zones’ for small group training, each created by Fitness First with more than 95 classes running in a day for members.

The Fitness First location in Pitt Street, Sydney recently completed a refurbishment with the design brief requiring the physical spaces to reflect the ‘Platinum’ standard of the brand. Open to new products that would visually enhance the space but also minimise downtime, the design team was introduced to the Territory Concrete range from CSR Cemintel by their builder, Matthew Skord from Project Plus.

“This product had been around for a little while and we started to see it more on projects giving us the confidence to use it. The palette had recently been relaunched and had evolved to more modern tastes, which was appealing. And also, being a CSR Cemintel product, we knew that there was going to be good technical support if we needed it. As with all products, there are usually little tips and tricks you need to learn to aid in an efficient installation and achieving a quality outcome. For us it ticked a lot of boxes.”

Cemintel’s Territory Concrete cladding complemented the minimalist palette of materials used in the project, and blended beautifully with the rich red and black colour tones.

In addition to meeting the aesthetic requirements, Territory also helped with minimising downtime. Being a prefinished product, the panels are installed with a clip fixing system to the studs, eliminating the need to bring in painters or tilers, and ensuring a quick turnaround on the project.

With ‘The Zone’ in Pitt Street now open, Territory is being considered for future locations.