Working with clients in the health + wellness industries is very humbling for us.  These are the people who have dedicated their lives to improving the quality of how others live and work - a tough act to follow.  These projects challenge us to create optimally-efficient environments within which structured activity and scripted movement may occur seamlessly. When designing a fitness facility, we need to apply extreme focus on how the environment we create facilitates fluid motion and transition from space-to-space.  We are tasked with crafting a space that is welcoming, motivational, functional and fun.

We were recently asked to design a renovation to the first and largest Crossfit gym in Chicago, Windy City Strength & Conditioning. Having opened their doors in 2007, this exciting company is now occupying its third space, each transition an effort to address the needs of a membership base that grew rapidly from 11 people in 2007 to over 300 in 2015.  Because they had enjoyed such rapid growth, they hadn't had much time to consider their space and how it was being used.  Not a bad problem to have but still, they knew it could be better.  Ellipsis was hired to help them optimize their space and elevate the character of the facility in tandem with an exciting rebranding effort which was currently underway.  

This project concluded in the summer of 2015 and we were very excited by the response from both the ownership, staff and membership community.  As with all project types, we crave feedback and strive to constantly evolve in response to it.  It's been a genuine pleasure to circle back with our friends at WCSC since completing the renovation of their space. We recently asked the Owner, Justin Marcis for his thoughts on the newly-configured facility, how it works in support of his business, how his members have responded to the improvements and how happy the WCSC staff has been with the relationship they've built with Ellipsis.  We asked him to provide his honest thoughts on the project and his satisfaction with Ellipsis.  Here's what he said:

The Ellipsis team have been an absolute pleasure to work with. I first reached out to Ellipsis in the spring of 2014 with a very raw and unpolished idea of simply wanting to renovate our facility. That's about as far as I had taken the thought. However, after meeting with the team at Ellipsis I was blown away with the level of thought and detail they put into creating a plan of action. They presented a number of options, walked us through pros and cons of each, and ultimately made a recommendation.

Working with Ellipsis has not only been a pleasure, but also eye-opening with regard to what architectural design services entail. Ellipsis helped us think differently with regard to feel, flow of movement and detail within our facility.

Fast forward to now... We couldn't be happier with how our facility looks, feels and operates. The team at Ellipsis truly exceeded our expectations. Working with Ellipsis entails so much more than just blueprints and construction schedules. The Ellipsis team does so much more than that. They have empowered us with the tools to take our business to the next level. I enthusiastically recommend Ellipsis to anyone.

Justin Marcis
Owner-Founder
Windy City Strength & Conditioning

Our sincerest gratitude goes out to Justin and his inspiring staff at Windy City Strength & Conditioning for the opportunity to work with them to create something special for their space that will be enjoyed by their die hard members (Ellipsis design team included) for years to come.  We look forward to running, squatting, lifting, pressing, stretching, laughing and improving alongside all of you for many, many years.

Photos by Cheston Bogue