Project scope
When Coda – a two-acre development of 299 premium apartments and suites in Battersea, London – was looking to bring the initial concepts of its residents-only gym to life, it turned to Physical Company as its one-stop-shop.
Mission
Designed by award-winning architectural practice Patel Taylor and located on the River Thames, Battersea’s new Coda residence “integrates architecture, place-making and landscape design to foster a deeply instilled sense of place”.
Fundamental to this sense of place are high-quality communal spaces, including private landscaped gardens, a residents’ lounge and a high-specification gym.
Strategy
Initially envisioned by Coda as a functional training space, in line with Physical advice the gym was ultimately redesigned as a more traditional gym space – both with safety and simplicity of use in mind, given the unsupervised environment, and to ensure broad appeal to all residents.
That meant a cross-trainer, two treadmills, pin-loaded resistance and selected free weights, including Physical’s recommendation of soft kettlebells from Reaxing – a way to help address possible noise issues in a residential block where flooring had already been installed by the main contractor.
“With our broad portfolio of own-brand and best-in-class partner products, we were able to help Coda cherry-pick equipment to meet its very specific needs,” explains Paul Farrell, Coda’s account manager at Physical Company.
The results
Taking its brief from the developer’s initial mood boards and translating this through 3D visuals to finished product, Physical Company was able to precisely replicate the premium look and feel required by Coda, even as the equipment requirements changed over time.
Physical was also able to deliver this quality product at speed, in spite of widespread issues caused by COVID, thanks to its own strong supply chain and a highly collaborative approach. Receiving a fast turnaround request from Coda, Physical Company approached Matrix and Exigo and worked closely with them to deliver a phased installation. All project managed by Physical Company as the one point of customer contact, this phased approach ensured the gym was, at all points in the process, as kitted-out as possible for Coda’s sales tours.
“The team at Physical have been great and very easy to work with. They’ve helped us plan an amazing residents gym from scratch and arranged for everything to make it as seamless as possible” Chris Cobham, Development Manager at Coda.
