Flight Performance and Fitness engaged Kripper Studio to re-adapt and re-imagine the use of an existing building to create a high-performance fitness training facility. The existing building at 13 Wall Street in Waltham, Massachusetts is an industrial structure built in 1987. It is a concrete modular unit block (CMU) structure with a pre-clad exterior. It is two stories with a flat roof and 8,000 usable square feet. In the early 2000s it was converted from industrial use to become an Islamic Academy with additive interior elements to subdivide the vast interior into small sections.
Flight Performance and Fitness caters to a high-performance community of coaches and athletes who participate in tailor-made training, education, and support. The scope of work requested to return the building to an industrial, open concept interior to become a flexible use space with a high-performance air circulation system and HVAC upgrades. The design goal was to expose and paint the concrete blocks to reveal the muscularity of the structure and celebrate the intended use.
Architecturally this functional, structurally sound, usable building was reimagined for multiple uses and to extend the usability. Additional scope included an update of all mechanical systems; an update on the air circulation system; an update to bathrooms including installing showers; installing sound proofing elements between floors; a new lighting system and removing ceiling tiles on the first floor to expose the full height of the space.
