The Health of the Nation

摘要

As the British public aspires to current notions of health, beauty and fitness, a whole new industry of dedicated health clubs compete with their interior architecture to attract custom and ultimately membership. Eleanor Curtis examines this phenomenon and looks specifically at three trailblazing London clubs, as well as some European examples by ORMS for Holmes Place. The aerobics fad of the 1980s that successfully crossed the Atlantic from the us to Europe, and introduced us, to those snappy concepts such as 'keep fit', 'work out' and 'feel the burn', provided the backbone for what is now a well-established health and fitness industry. In the early days, aerobics classes tended to take place at the local council's sports clubs or a local church hall, the former being open to the whole family. However, in the early 1990s the health club industry took off when private companies entered the market.