January is far and away the busiest month at the gym, propelled by an onslaught of New Year’s resolutioners with lofty fitness goals. But the fact is, only 20 per cent of new members will actually stick around come February. The difference between staying consistent and falling off the wagon? Finding a workout — and an environment — you enjoy rather than dread. With its design for ERE, a new fitness space in Montreal, Ivy Studio has delivered on the latter, creating a “refined sanctuary” imbued with the firm’s hospitality-inflected flair.

Located within the Cité du Multimedia neighbourhood, a tech hub situated between Griffintown and Old Montreal, ERE sits in the corner of a seven-storey office building — the perfect fit for the studio’s target clientele of young professionals. Ivy Studio used the existing architecture as a blank canvas, exposing the concrete floors and metal ventilation ducts to lean into the building’s raw industrial vibe.

In the wrong context, these edgier details could read as harsh, but here they are deftly balanced by curved volumes, like the monolithic stainless steel reception desk that guides the flow of customers at the entrance, a bright and open space conceived as “intentionally gallery-like,” according to the firm. Above, flat square panel lights arranged in a precise grid further the interplay between soft and sterile.

An elevated palette of materials and hues brings warmth to the common areas: cream-coloured walls, a baby blue tile-clad juice bar, slick butter yellow countertops, and velvet terracotta bleachers. The resulting space feels more akin to a luxury retailer than a gym. In place of flashy branding, logos are subtle and spare, with the interior doing much of the heavy lifting in defining the brand. It makes for a welcoming social space, one that invites members to linger before and after class.

In contrast to the lobby, each of the three fitness studios — which host spin, strength and Pilates classes — is designed as a “cocoon,” a dark and moody space that allows members to focus in on their workout. The spin studio, for instance, boasts a colour-changing LED system that synchronizes with the music, giving the energy of each ride a physical manifestation. The heated strength room is more subdued, with warm brown walls and flooring and soothing lighting that grounds the space in a meditative ambience. Lastly, the Pilates room is draped in long sheer curtains that filter natural light from the street-facing windows.

Throughout the 410-square-metre space, fostering strong transitions between the different environments was key. The entrance, for instance, features a bespoke U-shaped bench with a natural oak seat and stainless-steel benches; a glowing ERE logo creates an anchor for the ultimate mirror selfie, centred between banks of blush pink lockers. The changeroom, meanwhile, is rendered in blue, the monochromatic approach extending from the lockers to the marble vanities. When motivation inevitably wanes in the cold winter days ahead, it’s these carefully calibrated details that will give members a reason to keep coming back.