The Client's Vision

Every franchise fit-out begins with a set of standards that cannot be compromised. For this client, those standards came directly from F45 itself.

F45's functional-training format comes with specific spatial and layout standards. Our client needed a studio in Whitby that met those guidelines precisely, the right training floor, flow, and finishes for the brand.

Our role was to deliver that brand standard while also solving a local requirement the brand guidelines do not cover. That meant adding a new accessible washroom, bringing the space up to code and making it welcoming to every member.

The Site, Context, and Challenge

Whitby is one of Canada's fastest-growing municipalities, a family-oriented Durham Region community on the shore of Lake Ontario with a strong franchise and small-business economy.

That growth makes Whitby fertile ground for a boutique fitness brand like F45, but it also means the studio needed to compete for members in a community with an active, growing roster of fitness options.

The question became this: how could the fit-out satisfy F45's exacting brand standard while also meeting Ontario's building and accessibility requirements within the same footprint?

Brand consistency and code compliance do not always align easily within an existing 3,500 square foot space, and resolving both was central to the project.

The Design Response

Our primary design move was to plan the training floor to F45's exact spatial standard first.

The right training floor, flow, and finishes came directly from F45's international brand guidelines, giving the Whitby location the same functional-training experience members expect from any F45 studio.

Within that same footprint, we added a new accessible washroom, resolving the project's code requirement without compromising the training floor the brand guidelines called for.

The result is a studio that reads as fully on-brand for F45, while also meeting Ontario's building and accessibility requirements in full.

For a franchise fit-out, the goal was never choosing between the brand standard and the building code. It was satisfying both within the same space.

Architectural Character and Experience

The F45 Whitby studio is built around the training floor, flow, and finishes that define the brand's functional-training format wherever it operates.

Members moving through the space encounter the same layout logic F45 studios are built on, designed specifically to support the format's circuit-based training style.

The new accessible washroom extends that same care to every member, a code-driven addition designed to feel like a natural part of the studio rather than an afterthought.

The result is a brand-standard training environment that also functions as a genuinely accessible public space.

Process, Budget, Approvals, and Delivery

A franchise fit-out still depends on careful coordination between brand requirements and local code.

At 3,500 square feet, the project scope covered the F45 gym fit-out and a new accessible washroom, with Lima Architects Inc. as architect of record. A specific construction budget has not been confirmed for this project.

This balance mattered throughout. The training floor needed to match F45's international standard exactly, while the new washroom needed to satisfy Ontario's accessibility requirements without disrupting that layout.

By resolving both requirements together from the start, the fit-out moved through design and construction without one priority working against the other.

Outcome and Impact

The F45 Whitby studio achieves what the brand and the client set out to create.

A 3,500 square foot functional-training space that matches F45's international brand standard precisely, with a new accessible washroom that brings the space up to code and makes it welcoming to every member.

Most importantly, the project shows the value of designing a franchise fit-out around two non-negotiable standards at once. The space does not compromise the brand to meet code. It satisfies both.

Talk to a Professional

If you are considering a franchise fit-out that needs to satisfy brand guidelines and local building requirements at the same time, we would be pleased to begin the conversation.