Masquespacio Designs a Techno Gym in Austria and a Patisserie in Saudi Arabia

Design studio Masquespacio’s first project is a techno and cyberpunk gym, created this year for the new King Kong club in Salzburg, Austria.

The Spanish creative consultancy designed this new-generation fitness center, which features four different styles of workout: LIFT (strength training) RUSH (bootcamp-style HIIT) BAGS (boxing space), and FLOW (yoga area). The project aims to satisfy founder Max Schirnhofer's desire to open a new club inspired by cyberpunk and the techno discos of the 80s. Masquespacio invited him to use that aesthetic, adding a futuristic touch that could give the space a more innovative and sophisticated feel.

When you go in, you immediately notice that the façade displays a striking play of lights, inviting you to come and discover what is going on inside, giving visitors the sense that they are stepping into the future. The entrance lobby connects directly to the bar at the rear, which features custom-designed seating and planters made from re-purposed air conditioning pipes. The training rooms are located on the second floor. Neon lights that start to appear in the hallway lead you to the real action. Here in the boxing, HIIT training and yoga rooms is where customers get the feeling they have stepped into the world of 80's techno disco and cyberpunk. A futuristic atmosphere that continues in the changing rooms.

In short, Masquespacio has created a space that continually plays with this contrast between the future and the cyberpunk techno world of the 80s, offering the user a vibrant and highly original experience while exercising.

Last year the design studio also designed the MO patisserie/espresso bar in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which won a Restaurant & Bar Design Award.  

The company that commissioned the project sought to create a space that was a radical departure from the traditional, with a focus on the product and the interiors to enhance the brand image and provide the customer with an exceptional experience in every sense of the word. The initial idea was that the main attraction would be the pastries, presented as if they were jewels with fresh, innovative flavors. And Masquespacio took this idea and used it to develop a concept based on water, the water that creates magic and life, as well as being the essence of the patisserie itself.
 
The 400 m2 space was divided into three parts, each representing a different phase in the process of creating coffee and cake, with water as the main ingredient. First is the "liquid state", when the dough is mixed with water and creates the point of connection between the different areas inside the patisserie. In the bar area, waved panels have been used to simulate a gigantic waterfall, to make it clear that the bar area with its delicious range of products for sale is the focal point.

In front of the bar is the “solid state” or “ice” area, where huge luminaires present ice as the main attraction, while next to them are giant bubbles that represent the “gaseous state” as a series of fire bubbles symbolizing the moment when the pastry is baked in the oven.
 
The seating for the space was custom-created for the project, creating a variety of options for customers - from low lounge chairs and shared tables to stools and semi-private booths for couples. A gray and white color palette was selected along with metallic finishes for the tables and fabrics, to create reflections that simulate ripples on water. There is a controllable RGB mood lighting system that transforms the space, creating different sensations and revealing a singular space within the space for events and talks; sensations that are also represented through the reflections in the fabrics, tables and chrome spheres that create another level of optical fusion.

Masquespacio is a creative consulting firm established in 2010 by Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse. Combining its founders' two disciplines—interior design and marketing—the design agency creates branding and interior design projects using a singular approach that yields fresh and innovative concepts that have been recognized internationally by prestigious media specialized in design, fashion, and lifestyle trends. They are currently working on different projects in Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, Qatar, Italy, France, and Austria. Among their latest projects outside Spain, in addition to the two mentioned above, is the design for the take-away sushi chain Ichi Station in Milan.