Edge Athlete Lounge is a boutique facility that serves the elite endurance athlete community of Chicago, specializing in recovery, training and nutrition. Beyond services, though, our clients desired their space to be a place for community and education, so the project required the combination of many programmatic elements in a compact space. Our concept utilized the dense program and multi-functioning architectural elements to create spaces within a space. Because the most vulnerable time for an athlete is while they are recovering from an intense workout, we wrapped the program as a form around the recovery space to enclose and protect the recovering athlete. At the same time, the space remains flexible to allow for larger group meetings, demonstrations and lectures. The resulting space combines densely packed zones of activity, recovery, and interaction into a two-story shoe box flooded with vertical light.