Project Name: NewAns Shinjuku Studio

Location: Shinjuku District, Tokyo, Japan

Design Team: Shin Aoki & Partners

Construction: MYARDS

Area: 86 m²

Completion: April 2024

Photographer: Shota Hiyoshi

Feature：

Project - Japanese architect Shin Aoki has designed a hybrid fitness studio in Tokyo's Shinjuku district that deliberately blurs the boundaries between digital and physical training experiences while embracing social media culture.

Located on the fourth floor of a commercial building, NewAns Shinjuku represents a fresh take on fitness spaces that moves away from traditional muscle-building environments toward a more holistic wellness approach. The 86-square-meter studio combines personal training and Pilates facilities with carefully considered social media integration and online training capabilities.

"In an increasingly saturated fitness market, we wanted to create a space that prioritizes sustainable health over temporary physical transformation," Aoki explains. "The design needed to work equally well for both in-person sessions and online streaming."

The studio's most striking feature is its training area, defined by an interplay of undulating curtains and staggered wooden wall panels. This intentionally irregular spatial configuration helps users lose sense of the room's actual dimensions, allowing them to focus entirely on their workout sessions. The architect employed a sophisticated material palette of soft woods and textiles to create a calming atmosphere that contrasts sharply with conventional gym aesthetics.

Particularly innovative is the studio's approach to social media integration. A specially designed curved wall at the entrance serves as a branded photography backdrop for visitors' social posts, while the cardio area strategically faces park views through large windows – positioning exercising clients as living advertisements visible to passersby.

The space is meticulously planned to function as a seamless filming location for online content, with carefully positioned logo placements and considered lighting that works equally well for both in-person training and video streaming. Full-height fixtures and handle-less doors maintain clean sightlines throughout, eliminating visual distractions in both real and digital environments.

This thoughtful merger of physical and digital design elements creates what Aoki calls a "node between online and offline experiences" – a space that feels familiar to clients who discover it through social media, while providing an enhanced real-world experience that's inherently shareable.

Design Team - Founded in 2021, Shin Aoki & Partners (SAAP) is an emerging Tokyo-based architectural practice that sits at the intersection of spatial innovation and human-centric design. Led by Principal Architect Shin Aoki, who brings valuable experience from his tenure at Kengo Kuma & Associates (2019-2024), the studio has rapidly established itself as a thoughtful voice in Japan's contemporary architectural scene.

The practice's methodology is deeply rooted in phenomenological approaches to architecture, emphasizing the experiential quality of spaces while addressing contemporary social and environmental challenges. Following his education at The University of Tokyo and international experience at firms including Vo Trong Nghia Architects and Moreau Kusunoki Architects, Aoki has developed a distinctive design philosophy that merges Japanese spatial traditions with contemporary programmatic needs.

The interdisciplinary team, including graphic designer Yamato Iizuka and master carpenter Toshiki Nishimura, approaches each project through rigorous research and prototyping. Their work is characterized by a careful consideration of materiality, innovative spatial sequences, and an acute awareness of environmental performance.

SAAP's portfolio demonstrates their commitment to creating architecture that transcends mere functional requirements, instead focusing on crafting spaces that enhance user experience through careful attention to tactile qualities, natural light, and spatial flow.