Yoga business renews an old foundry as a space where students can exercise in complete calm

A STUNNING conversion of a tired CBD building into an elegant yoga studio is further evidence of the ongoing transformation of the centre of the city.

Owners Sally Ferris and Richard Facer have spared no expense in their six-month fitout of Wonder Yoga, with Folk Architects designing a spacious haven for their clientele.

Launched a month ago, the attention to detail is being rewarded with a healthy signup rate at the Ryrie St studios.

“We doubled our student numbers within a week,” Ms Ferris said. “We have on average of 500 people a week coming through the door.”

Having spent much time abroad, she was keen to find a central location for her business when she returned home about 18 months ago.

“Vibrant cities are cities that have people who live in the centre of town,” she said.

“We see that is happening to Geelong, slowly, but happening, and we are now part of that change.”

Wonder Yoga, which offers 55 classes a week from the two studios that sit within a premises which stretches to almost 5000sq m, aims to cater for the growing number of people living or working in the city.

Originally a foundry, the premises has access to the Little Ryrie St carpark and is well positioned to capture people coming up through the laneways precinct or down from St John of God Hospital.

Finding a suitably sized site in the CBD proved a challenge, with most of the sites available being either smaller retail spaces or the larger buildings situated in an inappropriate semi-industrial setting.

“We saw this and it looked very, very different,” Ms Ferris said of the premises that had had previous lives as a toy shop, a bakery and a charity store.

The owners had a strong idea of what they wanted but the building presented challenges with different levels and the desire to keep some the history intact.

They engaged Folk Architects, which “took our dream and made it into a reality”.

“We are really happy with how it has turned out and the response has been phenomenal,” Ms Ferris said.

The first-class amenities continue with a high-quality heat recovery ventilation