ABSTRACT
Thanhauser and Esterson’s design for the Definitions Fitness Center, a 4,000-square foot health spa occupying a loft in New york City, challenges conventional standards of visual privacy and propriety. A series of unisex shower and changing “cabanas” clad in burnished aluminum punctuate a large curving wall sheathed in copper. Each cubicle consists of backlit, translucent glass walls that create the illusion of privacy when seen from within (since reflected light makes the surface of the walls appear opaque) while projecting the anonymous silhouette of its occupant when viewed from outside. These shadow nudes discretely but emphatically engage the play of voyeurism and desire already at work within the space of the gym.
