Natural Way Chiro Movement Studio, Calgary

A 50 m² movement studio combining natural training principles with an early biophilic design concept

Natural Way Chiro in Calgary appointed Biofit to help shape a new 500 sq ft / c. 50 m² movement studio within a larger 4,500 sq ft wellness facility. The second-floor space was intended for personal and small group training, with strong natural light, generous ceiling height and a clear ambition to create a distinctive movement environment within the wider wellness setting.  

This was one of Biofit’s earliest substantial projects, completed at a time when the business was still strongly focused on combining natural movement training with biophilic interior ideas.

While Biofit’s work has since evolved into a broader gym, spa and wellness consultancy offer, this project remains an important early reference point because it shows the origins of the studio’s design thinking: movement-led, tactile, nature-influenced and concept-driven.

The project was developed in collaboration with Lily Jencks Studio, which brought added strength to the interior and planting concept at a formative stage in Biofit’s development. 

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Project overview

  • Client: Natural Way Chiro

  • Location: Calgary, Canada

  • Sector: Wellness / movement studio / healthcare-adjacent fitness

  • Project type: Movement studio design

  • Size: 500 sq ft / c. 50 m²

  • Year: 2016–2017

  • Scope: Concept development, studio planning, interior design direction, FF&E selection, bespoke equipment specification, planting and biophilic design collaboration

The brief

Natural Way Chiro wanted a movement studio that felt clearly different from a conventional gym.

The space sat within a broader wellness facility and was intended for personal training and small group sessions, with a particular emphasis on natural fitness rather than machine-led exercise. The core design ambition was to bring a stronger sense of the outdoors into the studio and create a nature-inspired indoor environment suited to year-round use.  

This was not a brief for a standard cardio-and-weights room. The identity of the space depended on the atmosphere of the room, the material palette, the equipment language and the kind of movement the studio was designed to support.

Our design approach

Biofit approached the project as a movement studio first, not a conventional gym.

At that stage in the business, Biofit’s design language was strongly informed by two connected ideas:

  • natural movement training

  • biophilic interior design

The original concept positioned Biofit around the integration of training method, gym design and equipment within a more verdant indoor setting.  

Today, Biofit’s service offer is broader and more commercially flexible than that early positioning. Even so, the Natural Way studio still matters because it demonstrates a design instinct that remains relevant: creating spaces that feel calmer, more tactile and more human than a typical fitness room, while still supporting purposeful physical training.

Collaboration with Lily Jencks Studio

This project was developed in collaboration with Lily Jencks Studio, which helped strengthen the interior and planting concept at a time when Biofit did not yet have its own design resources in place.

That collaboration brought a stronger landscape and vegetation sensibility to the scheme, particularly around the integration of:

  • suspended planting

  • live greenery

  • natural materials

  • a more immersive studio atmosphere

The drawings issued under the Jencks Studio title block show the planting strategy in detail, including perimeter greenery, hanging planters, lighting layers and planter types such as hanging plants, tall upright plants and upside-down planters.      

This collaborative dimension is an important part of the story. It shows that even in its earliest phase, Biofit was willing to build the right creative team around a project to achieve the desired outcome.

Spatial concept and studio character

The concept focused on making a relatively compact room feel distinctive, immersive and memorable.

The design drawings show a space organised around planting, natural textures and a more handcrafted material palette rather than conventional mirrored gym walls and standard commercial finishes. The elevation sheet references elements including:

  • reclaimed wood

  • cork

  • moss

  • rope

  • painted green surfaces

  • wooden balance beams

  • upside-down planters  

The associated detail sheet develops the suspended planting system further, including planter sections, hanging systems and the relationship between vegetation and mirrored surfaces.  

Together, these moves gave the studio a stronger identity than a basic treatment-room conversion or ordinary training room. The aim was to create an environment that supported movement, attention and atmosphere simultaneously.

Biophilic and healthy material strategy

A major part of the studio concept was the integration of health-conscious and nature-referencing interior elements.

The FF&E schedule specified items such as:

  • field green artificial grass flooring

  • aromatherapy diffusers

  • wellness / circadian rhythm light bulbs

  • a driftwood branch light fixture suspended on rope

  • non-toxic zero-VOC wall and ceiling paint

  • a RabbitAir air purifier

  • natural timber furniture for the waiting area  

This mix of products shows how the project went beyond simple decoration. It aimed to shape the sensory experience of the room through flooring, scent, lighting, air quality and tactility as well as visual design.

Some of these ideas reflect the specific language of Biofit’s early positioning and would likely be expressed differently today. Even so, the broader principle remains sound: people respond differently to training spaces that feel healthy, warm and materially considered.

Equipment strategy

The equipment concept was deliberately non-standard and closely aligned with the movement-led brief.

Rather than filling the studio with selectorised strength machines or standard cardio products, Biofit specified a more edited collection built around wood, leather, rope and bodyweight-based training tools. The FF&E schedule included:

  • a solid wood balance beam

  • NOHrD stall bars

  • a WaterRower Oxbridge in cherry wood

  • brown leather medicine balls

  • a custom leather punching bag

  • focus pads, headgear and boxing gloves

  • kick pads

  • sandbags

  • Bulgarian bags

  • climbing ropes

  • solid oak push-up bars

  • wooden gymnastic rings

  • wooden balance stones

  • resistance bands

  • skipping ropes

  • a wooden wobble board  

This equipment strategy reinforced the studio’s original concept: less machine-based exercise, more varied and tactile movement practice.

Training philosophy behind the space

An important aspect of the Natural Way project was that the studio was not designed in isolation from the intended training method.

The early Biofit material described an “evolution friendly fitness” philosophy based on variety, skill, mobility, real-world movement and low-level daily activity, as well as a framework built around movement, mobility, strength, stamina, play and fight.  

Whether or not Biofit would present that method in exactly the same terms today, the project is still a good example of design following programme. The space, equipment and atmosphere were all shaped around a particular approach to training rather than simply around product placement.

Outcome

Natural Way Chiro was one of Biofit’s first real studio design assignments and remains an important early case study.

It captured a moment when the business was still closely associated with natural fitness and biophilic interiors, before later evolving into a broader gym, spa and wellness consultancy offer. For that reason alone, it is useful as part of the Biofit story.

More practically, the project also demonstrated several capabilities that still define the business today:

  • shaping a clear concept around the intended user experience

  • designing beyond standard gym typologies

  • integrating interior atmosphere with equipment logic

  • collaborating with outside creative specialists when needed

  • translating a training philosophy into a physical space

In that sense, the Natural Way studio is less important as a statement of Biofit’s current positioning than as a strong example of its early design instincts and originality.

Services provided by Biofit

Biofit’s role included:

dr. Kyle of natural way chiro in calgary saw someting in us as biofit was just launching, he placed his trust in us and together we created a truly zen movement studio that was so much fun to play around in once completed. this was made all the more satisfying thanks to his team of movement coaches who embraced the studio's philosophy whole-heartedly.

– Matt Aspiotis Morley

Frequently Asked Questions

  • It was a 500 sq ft / approximately 50 m² movement studio within a larger wellness facility in Calgary, designed for personal and small group training. 

  • No. The studio was designed around movement-based training, natural materials and an early biophilic concept rather than a conventional gym model.

  • Lily Jencks Studio led the interior and planting concept, helping shape the biophilic design elements and studio atmosphere.

  • The scheme used a mix of wood, leather and bodyweight-oriented training tools including stall bars, WaterRower, ropes, rings, sandbags, balance tools and boxing accessories. 

  • It shows the early roots of Biofit’s design thinking: concept-led, movement-based and more interested in user experience than off-the-shelf gym formulas.

Biofit works with architects, engineering teams and project managers to deliver specialist sports, gym, spa and wellness design services.

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