When wellness lives at home
The Vegan House in Ho Chi Minh City features an eclectic façade of colorful shutter windows.
For a lot of people, it’s quite challenging to remain fit and healthy today. In a world where corporate jobs, urban demands and instant food choices are predominant, how can one pursue a healthy diet or even visit the gym?
Thankfully, there have been innovations that can help us keep fit even at home. Whether you have a busy schedule or a tight budget, there are some things you can do to remain healthy and strong. You can actually turn your home into your personal wellness center designed to help you pursue a sport, exercise frequently or eat well. Check out actual homes from around the world designed to be fitness centers in unique and fun ways.
The Vegan House
Have you tried going vegan and felt completely alone in your noble endeavor? Well, if you live in Vietnam, you don’t have to face your struggles alone. Smacked in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City, an apartment building has been turned into a community facility that was specifically designed to encourage a healthy diet.
Aptly called the “Vegan House”, the facility was cleverly designed by a local design studio Block Architects. The dwelling is meant to be a cultural venue where visitors can prepare and eat healthy traditional Vietnamese meals together. There are also bedrooms in the house where people can spend the night and live in a comfortable, retro-inspired home.
Filled with retro furniture, the Vegan House is designed to encourage people to get together and eat healthy.
Viewed from the street, the apartment turns heads with its eclectic façade. Multiple wood shutters, painted in varying colors, adorn the building front and creep up the roof. These elements allow light and natural ventilation to dominate the home. Coupled with some lush vegetation and ’60s era vintage furniture, the home reminds one of a grandma’s house where one can just chill and enjoy some comfortable and heartwarming food.
Overall, this house gives a positive take on the vegan lifestyle through its colorful visuals and homey interiors. With a building such as this, it might actually be fun to eat your vegetables and forget your meat.
The Court House
Moving on to Japan, a house has been designed to function as an indoor basketball court for its fitness-loving owners. Designed by the Koizumisekkei group in Shizuoka, Japan, the home looks quite simple on the outside with its white cladding and concrete entrance steps.
Upon entry, however, one is immediately greeted by a wooden basketball court, complete with a three meter-high hoop and a six meter-high ceiling.
The Court House of Japan features residential spaces surrounding an indoor basketball court.
The Court House has been designed as a residential gymnasium, complete with a fence-protected dining area.
The house was designed like a gymnasium, with rooms on the sides of the central court. Even though the basketball court is a quarter of the size of the traditional version, it can accommodate free throws and bystanders. The balcony on the second floor acts as a viewing deck for games that might be taking place below it. Even with its painted sports markings on the floor, the court can be repurposed overtime to become another gathering space or even a home library.
The Court House shows how one can live a life literally around basketball. If you live in such a space, there’s nothing to prevent you from shooting some hoops before breakfast, or throwing a three-pointer right before you go to work.
In Suspension
Asians are not the only ones integrating their healthy pursuits with the design of their homes. In Canada, a house has been designed to function as a gymnast’s haven.
Featuring gym hoops suspended from the ceiling, the residence has been dubbed “In Suspension” by its creators, local architectural firm Naturehumaine.
The house is situated in Montreal and caters to a family with two athletic grown-up children. Two floors were renovated by the architects, but a portion of the upper floor was removed to provide a high ceiling space to the area. The central space of the home is fitted with equipment for exercise such as a pull-up bar and the gym hoops. Despite its concentration on fitness, the space remains responsive to the living needs of its users. An island kitchen, en-suite bathroom, library area and private bedrooms surround the central space. Overall, the place is a complete living space designed to keep any athlete happy.
Designed by a local Canadian firm, In Suspension features gymnast’s hoops and an exercise area at the center of two residential floors.
No Excuse
With houses like the ones described, you simply don’t have an excuse anymore to prevent you from being your most fit self.
Even if you can only spare a few minutes of activity at home, you can still try to exercise and eat healthy. While you may not have a basketball court or a gymnasium inside your house, what’s stopping you from creating a space where you can practice your interests in sports or healthy cooking?
Think big and make your home more than your rest stop for the day. Your house can actually be a tool to help you achieve a fit and healthy lifestyle if you just make it adapt to your needs.
Sources:
dezeen.com
archdaily.com
Toshiyuki Yano, Quan Tran, Adrien Williams via archdaily.com
