Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

+ Who are your clients? Hotels, real estate developers,gym brands or fitness entrepreneurs?

We are a business to business consultancy, working with hotels and real estate developers primarily, as well as private clients looking for a premium home gym set-up. We also advise gym brands and health clubs. We do not, as a eneral rule, work with start-ups or first-time entrepreneurs.

+ What is biophilic design and how is it used in a nature gym??

Biophilic design reunites indoor and outdoor worlds in urban architecture and interiors. Typically found in residential, hotel and office buildings, hospitals and retail stores; not previously found in gyms. Think natural plants, textures, colours, visuals, shapes, scents, sounds and materials to create a healthy, green eco-friendly space. Biophilia also gave us our brand name biofit.

+ What was the genesis of Biofit?

Biofit owner Matt Aspiotis Morley comes from a real estate development and hotel background professionally but fitness had been his passion for more than 25 years before he eventually decided to combine the two interests.

His training had been moving towards outdoor, equipment-free, largely bodyweight sessions while at the same time he identified a gap in the market for a more nature-inspired version of the contemporary fitness facility that combined the latest trends in healthy, wellness-oriented interior design principles with biophilic, natural design components. Mix all that together and out pops biofit!

+ Do you design fitness studios or gyms? What's the difference?

Firstly, let us be clear in the distinction between a group class-based fitness 'studio', with a limited equipment set-up, as opposed to a 'gym' facility with a full equipment set-up covering cardio, strength, movement and mobility zones.

The former could live within a wider gym or healthcare centre context for example while the latter is better suited to residential, hotel or office buildings where a wider range of needs is to be met.

+ Do you design outdoor gyms?

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Yes, we design outdoor gym spaces too, see our gym in Montenegro as an example; in fact this type of set-up is a great opportunity to practice what we preach by training outdoors in the open air and incorporating far more endurance work than a machinery-free indoor space could allow for.

Outdoor spaces mean we cannot control the environment in the same way as we do indoors, so air quality, temperature, ventilation, shading, lighting and so on need to be taken into extra consideration.

+ What about the plants in your gyms? who selects them? do they need maintenance

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We select oxygenating plants for indoor use as well as indigenous plants as a priority, it's all about purifying the air, reducing pollutants in the gym space and creating a sense of place.

Generally these plants will need watering 1-2 times each week (a receptionist or other team member could do that) and we recommend a gardener visits every month or two to check on the health of the plants.

If there is limited natural light or you prefer to avoid such ongoing operational costs, there are various alternatives available such as working with preserved moss that has zero maintenance requirements.

+ Do you design eco-friendly, sustainable gyms and if so how?

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We take a mindful approach to the selection of all our materials, prioritizing the natural and sustainable wherever possible. We are especially conscious of bringing any products or materials with airborne Volatile Harmful Compounds (VOCs) into the gym space. We therefore choose to work with suppliers who have responsible business practices. The fitness industry in particular has a long way to go in this sense and it can be frustrating at times but we aim to lead by example and promise complete transparency along the way.

+ How do you integrate multi-sensory design principles into your gyms?

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Examples of this approach include:

our own acoustic world music playlists for audio inspiration (Biofit MusicToMoveTo example here)

forest aromatherapy ‘phytoncides’ for focus and vitality (see background article here)

tactile materials underfoot, such as Japanese tatami mats and 7mm thick ‘grass effect’ eco-carpet tiles

gym equipment with fibrous textures, natural imperfections and the patina of age, such as leather sandbags and medicine balls, handcarved pine pull-up beams, etc

large-scale nature walls, be they living plants or photographic representations, create a visual feast for the senses during a workout (see our stockholm and london gyms)

+ What are the benefits of exercising in an organic gym or fitness studio?

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From a user perspective, organic gyms are spaces designed to improve mood and reduce stress levels. They are purified, natural and non-toxic environments, meaning we think about the materials we use as well as the cleaning protocols, air filtration and humidity levels, aromatherapy, acoustic music playlists, and so on.