Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten

Description

The setting for the sports centre is a former industrial estate where the dense townscape gives way to a mix of large commercial buildings and small family homes. These distinctive surroundings, combined with a spatial connection to the adjacent river and slope, give the site its character. The site is organised as a patchwork of various sports and recreational facilities at a right angle to the river, punctuated by individually landscaped pathways and patios. The new sports hall is an integral part of this established patchwork, standing to the east of the site. By minimising the visible volume of the hall, it appears as a freestanding pavilion as far away from the existing buildings as possible, and as low as possible. This self-evident presence is further strengthened by the design concept, which unambiguously identifies the structure as a sports hall. A straightforward basic form is visible in section: The sunken hall area evokes the shape of a simple vessel, while the roof acts as its lid. Four solid circulation cores support the roof with its corporeal presence and increase the dynamic impression made by the overall structure. An open gap between the two «vessel elements» creates a double-aspect ground floor, visually connecting to neighbouring open spaces as well as to the river and slope beyond. The roof is constructed in timber and clad seamlessly in vertically-oriented squared timber elements.