Philippe Starck’s first company was
set up to create inflatable objects
in the 1960s. Almost 50 years
later and his designs have
become increasingly ambitious.
We take a look around his
‘inflatable’ health club in
Montpellier, France
French designer Philippe Starck has created an ‘inflatable’ health club in Montpelier, France, by cladding the building with fluorine-based ETFE to create a bubble-like façade housing fitness facilities over five floors.
Opened in October 2014, Le Nuage club (‘nuage’ means ‘cloud’ in French) includes a fitness studio and gym, swimming pool, café, children’s area, hairdressers and beauty salon. The striking interior features a range of Starck-designed furniture; the exterior can change colour with the use of special lighting.
Roxim, the developer, says the building was inspired by the gymnasiums developed into baths during the Greek and Roman times, which were designed to be places for both training and relaxation.
“The beauty and richness of life arises from diversity, translucency and projections,” said Starck.
He continues: “This building is the opposite of an architectural gesture. It is a ‘nearly nothing’; an urban space, a chaotic and free town, a magic bubble – virtually indestructible, even though it only has the thickness of a few tenths of a millimetre. Le Nuage is a factory of energy for everyone and for the town of Montpellier.”
Philippe Starck's ‘inflatable’ health club in Montpellier, France
The health club was designed with a series of air-filled ‘pillows’ on the façade to give an impression of lightness
The minimalist, industrial-style gym features equipment from Technogym
Philippe Starck furniture has been used throughout the facility, which is spread over five floors
The building is clad with fluorine-based ETFE, which can change colour with altered lighting
The design features industrial-looking surfaces and exposed pipework,
mixed with flashes of colour
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Philippe Starck’s first company was
set up to create inflatable objects
in the 1960s. Almost 50 years
later and his designs have
become increasingly ambitious.
We take a look around his
‘inflatable’ health club in
Montpellier, France
French designer Philippe Starck has created an ‘inflatable’ health club in Montpelier, France, by cladding the building with fluorine-based ETFE to create a bubble-like façade housing fitness facilities over five floors.
Opened in October 2014, Le Nuage club (‘nuage’ means ‘cloud’ in French) includes a fitness studio and gym, swimming pool, café, children’s area, hairdressers and beauty salon. The striking interior features a range of Starck-designed furniture; the exterior can change colour with the use of special lighting.
Roxim, the developer, says the building was inspired by the gymnasiums developed into baths during the Greek and Roman times, which were designed to be places for both training and relaxation.
“The beauty and richness of life arises from diversity, translucency and projections,” said Starck.
He continues: “This building is the opposite of an architectural gesture. It is a ‘nearly nothing’; an urban space, a chaotic and free town, a magic bubble – virtually indestructible, even though it only has the thickness of a few tenths of a millimetre. Le Nuage is a factory of energy for everyone and for the town of Montpellier.”
Philippe Starck's ‘inflatable’ health club in Montpellier, France
The health club was designed with a series of air-filled ‘pillows’ on the façade to give an impression of lightness
The minimalist, industrial-style gym features equipment from Technogym
Philippe Starck furniture has been used throughout the facility, which is spread over five floors
The building is clad with fluorine-based ETFE, which can change colour with altered lighting
The design features industrial-looking surfaces and exposed pipework,
mixed with flashes of colour
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Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Orbit4 With Orbit4, you’ll always have full visibility
of your equipment inventory, the true
market value [more...]
