I-WAY

I-WAY is massive and monumental. Since design is mainly a question of scale, and its purpose is essentially human, the shock of proportions is there to remind us of our condition and place in the Universe, physi-cally surpassing Man in order to, paradoxically, be even closer to him. Our condition and the immensity of our surroundings fascinate me. When we consider that our brains are made up of billions of components and that we are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of galaxies, each made up of hundreds of thousands of stars, we cannot help but admire our own sophistication, the incredible breadth of our environment and our capacity to study it in its entirety. If we take this reflection on our environment even further, by changing scale, from building to city, from city to country, country to Earth and from the Earth to the Universe, we cross over to the other side of the looking glass and stand facing ourselves. We can then see the incredible distance we have covered, the lofty level we have reached, what we are and what we have yet to achieve. These basic ideas have been integrated in the site to stimulate wonder and surpass the simple physical and material aspects of its architecture, making it a platform for extrapolation, playing on several levels of consciousness.

The building has 3 levels. The main entrance is on the ground floor. The hall leads directly to the second floor via two glass lifts or a monumental glass staircase. Completely built in concrete, the entrance –a cylinder measuring 11 meters in diameter and 11 meters tall –contrasts with the ethereal staircase that sweeps across it. Once at the top, the visitor is enveloped in a softly lit environment and has access to several spaces. . Shop: an international first, the I-WAY shop is made of carbon fibre, Corian and concrete. It offers luxury products from ranges such as Porsche Design, Tag Heuer, Sparco and Equipaggiamenti. . White Bar: the ten-metre Corian bar offers alcohol-free beverages such as cocktails and fruit juice. . Lounge bar: the bar consists in a 4-metre truncated cone in black Corian and a lounge/restaurant offering gourmet food. Two partially open garden terraces are also available year round. . Conference rooms: featuring black Corian, white furniture and natural lighting, these rooms allow compa-nies to organise seminars related to the simulators and driving in general.
Access to the first floor is therefore only possible via the upper level. There we can find the main activities of the building. . Sports room: with its white entrance/reception bathed in light, the softly lit sports room has powerful concrete walls lined with high-tech equipment (Cybex). Also available: a fitness room, cycling room, water and juice bar also made of Corian. . Spa: the spa offers saunas, hammams (in black mosaic tile for Men and white tile for Women), luminous ice fountains in a marble atmosphere, a massage room (with heated Corian tables designed exclusively for I-WAY) and changing rooms with Corian furnitures and glass lockers backpainted in black and white. . Three simulation areas: Formula 1, Endurance, Rally/Touring, are located at the heart of the building. Made up of empty concrete cubes, they showcase six simulators per zone with walkways providing access on either side.