Mitchell Joachim’s River Gym: Do the Loco-Motion
Alex Padalka
Consider your typical New York gym: so much jogging/spinning/lifting, but no one is going anywhere. All that energy, wasted. Architect Mitchell Joachim of Archinode Studio and Douglas Joachim, a personal trainer and lecturer, thought so, too, and designed the River Gym, a . . . well, a “useful multi-planar kinetic space,” really.
The concept is actually quite simple - harness all that human locomotion into energy to propel vessels along the Hudson and East Rivers, to several points across the city. In addition to converting the mechanical energy into propulsion, onboard purification devices would clean up the water they travel through. Finally, these floating gyms would take on the non-athletic commuter as well. And instead of TV monitors, everyone gets to watch the changing skyline. It’s almost as good as going for a run in Central Park - but better for the environment!
The design won third place in a gym concept competition organized by New York Magazine back in 2005. So far, the idea is still up for grabs. The concept is in use, however, in Hong Kong.
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