muscle fibre

Fabio Capanni Workshop's gym on the outskirts of Sesto Fiorentino, near Florence, is covered with copper plates making the building look like muscle fibre. The whole structure is nail-less thus they are free to move and expand in accordance with one of copper’s key characteristic. The Architects created it to serve as a gym for a pre-existing town school. The space is organised in two simple orthogonal volumes, designed to be inexpensively prefabricated. The main structure is made of prestressed concrete and is similar to the industrial hangars one find in the Sesto Fiorentino area wherelse the smaller volume, clad with travertine is where changing rooms and utility rooms are housed. The choice of copper for the exterior is striking; the metal’s flexibility to form and structure makes the building look like a giant lung, able to breathe and make the surrounding area breathe - a metaphor parallel to sports.