Spinning in Mitte: Becycle Boutique Fitness Studio in Berlin

Berlin is renowned for many things, chief amongst them being its bike-friendliness. Also boasting one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting in the world, along with its legendary clubbing culture, it was only a matter of time for someone to come along and combine these two activities.

Enter BECYCLE, a new boutique fitness studio that offers cycling classes with a nightclub ambience in a newly refurbished space that combines the raw, urban vibe of the city’s grange ambience with a contemporary aesthetic of minimal elegance.

Designed by Götz + Bilchev Architekten in collaboration with Lien Tran Interior Design and DRAA, the studio occupies the ground floor of a period building in the Mitte district that has been gutted to expose its original brickwork which painted in off-white shades, is complemented by concrete floors and exposed ceilings with crisscrossing air ducts in silver foil.

In contrast to this somber urban setting, the designers have ingeniously placed a zigzagging, prismatic structure of brushed brass that leads visitors from the entrance lobby to the exercise studios and men’s changing rooms at the back. Incorporating retail niches for displaying sporting goods and accessories, the entrance to the bathrooms and staff rooms, lockers and built-in water coolers, the sculptural volume’s brass panels are beautifully juxtaposed with the building’s exposed architecture as well as the reception’s black marble counter. Taking advantage of the building’s previous usage (previously, it was used as a bank), the designers have cleverly transformed the vault on the basement level into the female changing rooms.

The Ride studio, designed with a nightclub in mind, features an all-black space with an elaborate array of light fittings enabling the cycling classes to be accompanied by dazzling light shows as well as dance beats specially curated and mixed by up and coming DJs. Next door, the Yoga studio, the yang to the cycling studio’s yin, is a light-filled space of light wooden floors, mirrored walls and white ceiling that distills a sense of harmony and balance.

Before or after classes, members can unwind and socialize in the chill-out zones at the front, complete with a lounge, a co-working area and a juice bar that offers healthy smoothies and snacks over a counter of white marble with wooden inlays. This bright space featuring oak furniture of modern, minimalist design, perfectly encapsulates the studio’s dedication to personal customer service combined with an urban lifestyle based on athletic and aesthetic excellence.