Let’s be honest: the average fitness space is an afterthought. Whether it’s in a residential building, a private club, or a so-called wellness resort, the setup is usually the same—same cardio and weights, with the occasional moments of thoughtfulness. It’s a checkbox, not a strategy; a space people tolerate, not a space they love. But guess what? SPX doesn’t do average.

We sat down with Frank Englund and Chris Howell, co-founders of SPX, the creative studio behind some of the most thoughtful, culture-forward fitness and wellness spaces in hospitality, multifamily, and members’ clubs. From custom millwork to branded dumbbells to neighborhood storytelling, they’ve helped redefine what a “gym” can be and what it can mean.

Like us, they believe fitness and wellness spaces are some of the most emotionally charged, personally meaningful environments in any project. They’re not just places where people “work out.” They’re where routines are formed, anxiety is burned off, jet lag is managed, and moments of growth—physical or otherwise—actually happen.

That kind of space deserves better thinking. Better design. Better storytelling.

We wanted to understand how they think about programming, brand, and why so many developers still get it wrong. And maybe, just maybe, what White Lotus got right.

Let’s get into it.

Chris Howell & Frank Englund

SPX

New York, NY

Gym & Wellness Design

In a world in which most new hotels fall under big brands–and the big brands are eating up the indie brands at record pace–true independents stand as beacons of inspiration. They survive with the stewardship of been-there-done-that leaders; they thrive with the help of visionary creatives. There aren’t many people who can wear both hats…but Carolyn Schneider is one of them.

With Corner Booth, Carolyn sits in the director chair of the entire creative development process. She supports teams that have the guts and resilience to create independent hotels, but need help turning a story into a space.

In this interview, Carolyn shares her journey, starting as a cocktail server at Ace Hotel NYC to building transformative hospitality experiences through Casetta Group and now leading her creative agency, Corner Booth. She navigates the highs and lows of the industry; she muses on what’s next in hospitality and what should remain mainstays of every hotel.

Carolyn Schneider

Corner Booth Hospitality

Los Angeles, CA

Creative Hospitality

In many ways, Food and Beverage powers the emotional transportation that happens when you step into great hotels. Bars, restaurants, cafes, lounges–and the plethora of innovative permutations in between–create memorable stories within the grand stories of hotel brands. F&B hits at the sensorial level, crafting the longest lasting impressions and bringing the entire hotel experience into focus.

In the world of hospitality, few individuals can combine breadth & depth of experience with the ability to make new ideas come to life like Scot Turner. With a career that spans over 25 years, he’s navigated the hotel industry, spearheaded the launch of 40+ venues across 14 countries, and mastered the art of creating unforgettable food and beverage concepts. In 2022, Scot took his passion and expertise to new heights by founding Auden Hospitality, a venture dedicated to redefining hotel F&B through innovative, guest-centered concepts.

In this conversation, we dive into Scot’s remarkable journey—from his formative years in iconic hotels to launching his own consultancy, Auden Hospitality. We explore his insights on what makes F&B memorable, the evolving relationship between hotel and F&B brands, and his vision for the future of hospitality. Whether it’s creating new concepts inspired by global travels or championing fresh perspectives in hotel dining, Scot’s story is one of relentless creativity, adaptability, and a deep love for the industry. Let’s get into it.

Scot Turner

Auden Hospitality

London, UK

Food & Beverage

Brands that stick think through all of the touch points in their customers’ journeys. They relish opportunities to tell their brand stories; they jump on chances for fans to endorse their brands. This is where Openhouse comes in.

Openhouse designs signature custom products for thoughtful brands…across hospitality, retail, media and more. They make the type of products that we wear, carry and consume as badges of honor – as if to say, “this brand is part of my lifestyle.”

It takes an exceptionally creative team to concept, design and produce products that transcend in-the-moment; revolutionizing the basic merch that we historically overlooked or discarded. What do these products look like? Think about the perfect notebook that sits on your desk or the hat that gives you a tad bit more swagger or even the staff uniforms that made your best hotel stay feel like a movie; items that tell a great story, invoke a sense of nostalgia, represent something aspirational, or simply make you smile.

Chris Breen started Openhouse after a diverse career and a few entrepreneurial pivots. He’s someone who has learned from a variety of disciplines and life experiences to breath fresh air into an important part of placemaking.

Chris Breen

Openhouse

New York, NY

Signature Products

If you’ve been following The NWS beat, then you know that we’ve been working hard to make real estate development more aligned with the best practices in consumer product development.

What does that mean? For our built world to be consumer-centric, culturally relevant, and brand forward: for the design of a place to have the same rigor and user-responsiveness as the design of your favorite gadget; for the launch of a community to be like the launch of a new something cool from a beloved company; for the service of your space to uphold 21st century customer service standards.

A big part of this journey–bridging the gap between CRE development and consumer product fundamentals–is understanding the developer mindset. We want to back-translate the major pieces of innovation, brand and design into CRE-speak. All, so that creatives and developers can come together to build places people love.

To this end, we invited John Pugh of “The Lineup“ — a thought-provoking commentary on CRE, catered to upstart developers — to help us metaphorically touch grass. To learn from one of the more placemaking-forward developers on how the rest of the crowd thinks.

John Pugh

Pugh Management

Tampa, FL

Real Estate Development

We don’t often consciously process an art program’s role in placemaking, despite its oversized impact. We admire the work, but we’re not privy to the thinking behind the work. That’s why, for this first drop in No Offense, we speak with Anna Cerniglia, owner of Johalla Projects and seasoned art curator.

Anna Cerniglia, Owner and Creative Director of Johalla Projects. Johalla offers art advising, curation, creative design collaboration, and the execution of large-scale visual art installations, with a focus on emerging and mid-career artists, contemporary design, and a nod to distinct bespoke objects.

Anna Cerniglia

Johalla Projects

Chicago, IL

Art Curation