Studio Republik is a 5,500-sq-m immersive, state-of-the-art community allowing individuals to develop powers of expression within the fields of music, drama and dance, as well as enhance the body’s capabilities with nutrition, rehab and prehab, personal training, and strength and conditioning. It is a one-of-a-kind environment with unrivalled facilities, programing, instructors and services and delivered within a boutique, community concept style, energetic and spirited environment. Members are transported into the world of Studio Republik as soon as they alight at the pavement drop-off. The atmosphere is dynamic, inter-active and sensory creating visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory experiences. The activities offered by Studio Republik belong to three distinct “Communities” or “Platforms”: The Arena: A family of studios for Aerial
, Boot Camp, 
Cycling and Group Exercise The Stage: A home for the Performing Arts comprising Studios for Dance, 
Drama
 and Music. The Lab: An Integrated wellness centre providing Yoga and Pilates Studios for Mind and Body work, Nutrition Counselling, Personal Training and Rehabilitative services delivered from a Dubai Health Authority approved Polyclinic. The client’s brief was to deliver a ground-breaking facility like no other in terms of design, style, function, acoustics and seamless integration of cutting edge technology and equipment. Members are transported into the world of Studio Republik as soon as they alight at the pavement drop-off or at the underground valet station. The atmosphere is dynamic, interactive and sensory creating visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory experiences. These experiences start on entering the atmospherically lit lobby where walls and ceilings lined with fins of glowing coloured glass, mirrors and mesh conceal dense acoustic absorbency and 4K projectors imprint images onto gently swaying curtains. On the first floor the journey, accompanied by trick lighting and 8m wide edge bled projections delivering inspirational and educational content, continues down the 100-m-long 'street' lined with a lustrous dark blue woven wall covering to the reception. The restaurant ROH with its central location, staircase connection and performance stage playing host to acts as diverse as contortionists, opera singers, and Indie bands is the beating heart of Studio Republik. It is a casual, sunny, daytime meeting and co-working space and café, transforming at night into a glamorous restaurant where the multitudinous lighting pendants endlessly reflect in the full height mirrored walls and the glass roof at night. The Stage houses the Dance, Drama and Music Studios and has a warm, hospitable yet edgy palette of oak, recycled white brick, mirrors, oak ballet barres, black rubber, mesh, burgundy wool crepe fabrics, black velvet drapes and soft terracotta hues on the walls. The Arena throbbing with live music, DJ booths, projections and RGB lighting comprises studios designed to create an immersive experience for the exhilarating adrenaline rush of the high impact classes. The material palette for these areas has a raw night-club style aesthetic juxtaposed with sumptuous touches of glamour. The spaces are characterized by black timbers, polished concrete, finned mirror planks providing endless reflections and black, pink and turquoise over scaled floral wall coverings which wrap the ceilings and walls of the Aerial Studio – a women only Moulin Rouge style environment. The Lab is designed as a sanctuary and combines the light and ethereal aesthetic of grey timbers and billowing white sheers with the rigour of Japanese style modulated backlit shoji paper screens. Live flautists and violinists accompany your journey as you slip into deep poses and states of meditation. The state of the Art Personal Training suite provides rehabilitation and conditioning. This is backed up by the DHA approved Polyclinic which houses 6 treatment rooms, nutrition counselling suites and a rehab gym which comply with all the seriousness of infection control driven seamless surfaces but delivered with a design style that is pure hospitality. Studio Republik has been meticulously designed to occupy the first and second floors of what was a shell and core office building on Dubai’s main arterial road. Not being purpose built there were many obstacles to overcome ranging from structural strengthening, compromised ceiling heights and acoustic privacy both from neighbouring office and retail tenants and between adjacencies of Studio Republik’s own activities, some of which have been cocooned in 6 sided acoustic “floating boxes” to ensure sublime levels of sound and impact separation. Every studio has its own unique design and finishes palette but follows a common family language of design look and feel established for the Platform it belongs to. The overall transparent nature of the design provides a backdrop of visual stimulation and creativity. The music studios are punctured with large acoustic windows allowing visibility into the Technical Studios and Ensemble Rooms; The Boot Camp with its Tron style lighting grid and RGB coloured lighting wands provides the backdrop to the reception via acoustically glazed walls which also line the PT gym and GX studios. The design and services being delivered nourish and complement each other by generating a true symbiosis and create for Studio Republik a self sustaining eco system which is enhanced via the addition of a restaurant, co-working and performance space which acts as a focalizer and the bringing together of the communities of Studio Republik engendering a sense of belonging in line with the Studio Republik mantra of this is where we belong. With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the closing of the doors of Studio Republik just 2 months after its opening, it has been remarkable to see how the cutting edge technology originally conceived as a business tool to track and profile member usage has now seamlessly been re-deployed to keep members safe in these changing and challenging times with the help of the access control gates, smart wristbands, and booking apps to control capacity, protect personal space and reduce the need for surface contact. With sustainability also very much on the agenda, all materials have been locally sourced and all furniture and feature elements have been designed and locally manufactured to reduce the carbon footprint. Studio Republik does not only challenge your body, your soul and your senses but as a result of thoughtful design and antimicrobial wall surface treatments to main circulation spaces it is transitioning into a new post pandemic era.