DT
Dominic Tsang
Nov 1, 2025
NoLibs is the 175th CPY studio I’ve practiced at so I know about good studio design and what standards to expect. This studio is a new-build so it has the latest corporate design aesthetic with white walls and a black accent wall for the LED location light.
Upon entrance, you’re greeted by the front desk in the middle and small retail area & lounge to the left. One long hall runs the length of the space, with the first stop being the communal changing area. Lockers are small square-shaped and feature Keyless-brand locks where you can create your own 4-digit numerical code, much better than the tiny Master Lock locks. I do feel very weird stripping around women even when it isn’t crowded. I want to emphasize that I do not like this direction of only having changing spaces and individual restroom stalls in lieu of full locker rooms in order to reduce real estate costs. This has been tried at Emeryville and everyone (students and staff) hates it—creating frustration, bottleneck, and congestion between classes. Can you imagine having to wait 15 minutes or longer for someone to finish inside a restroom when you really need to pee or take a dump?! NoLibs only has 2 restrooms and only one of them has a shower, just one shower for the entire studio (even a one-room studio like Marina has at least 2 showers)! Sucks if you need the shower and someone inside isn’t even using it. The other two rooms are empty, solely for changing.
Two practice rooms are opposite the toilets/changing rooms. Studio 1 is right behind the front desk and is the smaller of the two. I was surprised it was quite small with a large pillar in the back. The mirrors span two adjacent walls and feature accent lighting at the top and bottom, first debuted (that I’ve observed) at the Ventura franchise studio. The white-colored heat panels contrasting the black ceiling are oriented lengthwise with some scattered HVAC heat vents. The vents can blow air strongly but I and the instructor noticed that it did feel like cold air for a critical part of the first 1/3 of class that really needed high heat. Alike all new corporate studios, the room takes a very, very long time to increase temperatures, especially for HPF, and have no exhaust fan nor cooling mechanism to rapidly cool the room for cold classes.
My class did not reach the minimum 102° until the end of class so I had a tougher time holding my balance stably in many poses, unlike studios with stronger heating systems and humidity. Studio 2 is larger and has three circular lights hanging from the ceiling as seen at Preston Hollow and DTC. This room also has a large pillar in the back and features mirrors spanning two adjacent walls. Sadly, both doorways still lack a shoe cubby tower so expect shoes to pile into the hallway.
As with all other CPYs, blocks and straps are offered as props. Athletix wipes are available to disinfect equipment. Water spray bottles are available to dampen your Yogitoes before class, but spray more water to be safe as your mat towel dries out much faster at these newer studios!
I would like to see more prominent signage within the practice room and verbal reminders for students not to talk or use electronics in the rooms as it is disruptive. I don’t need to hear about your upcoming plans for the week, boy troubles, nor your fake nails hitting the screen from rapid texting, and yes everyone can hear you from the other side of the room. Managers and trainers should be informing instructors to teach students to keep the room quiet after savasana and saving convo for the lounge area.
Both Philly studios are currently out of collectible CPY Philadelphia location stickers. I think location stickers should always be on hand at every studio; it’s a great marketing tool and conversation starter outside of the studio. I hope the Ardmore studio will finally learn from the past and be smarter about studio design. Bring back locker rooms with showers and lockers inside! I HATE having to go multiple trips back and forth to bring my belongings from my locker to the restroom at newer studios.