The end is inevitable — yet the Gloriarank temporary sports hall is an ambitious and forward-thinking interim solution.

The tempo­rary sports hall Glori­a­rank will serve the Univer­sity of Zurich, ETH Zurich as well as the Canton School Rämi­bühl as a provi­sional faci­lity for the next ten years. For this tempo­rary cons­truc­tion project, the Basel team of Itten+Brechbühl AG (IB) colla­bo­rated with long-stan­ding partner Hector Egger Gesamt­dienst­leis­tung AG to develop a cons­truc­tion design based strictly on ready-to-use elements as well as other even­tual decon­s­truc­tion anti­ci­pa­ting measures. These reflect the aim of the new cons­truc­tion to be a contri­bu­tion to the Zurich univer­sity quarter taking into account various cycles.

The need for a tempo­rary sports hall is mainly due to the project Forum UZH sche­duled for reali­sa­tion over the next decade, which will make a signi­fi­cant contri­bu­tion to the large-scale trans­for­ma­tion of Zurich’s univer­sity quarter. The educa­tion and rese­arch centre in the Wässer­wies area desi­gned by the archi­tec­tural firm Herzog & de Meuron will offer space for 6,000 students. Reali­sa­tion of the major project requires removal of four exis­ting sports halls, later to be replaced by new sports areas in Forum UZH. The tempo­rary sports hall Glori­a­rank is intended to serve students of the Univer­sity of Zurich, the ETH Zurich and the Canton school Rämi­bühl as a substi­tute sports hall over the next ten years – in corre­spon­dence with the projected buil­ding period for Forum UZH.

Located within a steeply sloping wedge formed by a sharp bend of the Gloria­strasse, the new tempo­rary sports hall Glori­a­rank is in a neigh­bour­hood with some listed buil­dings. The tram circles the loca­tion in a gene­rous loop, making the buil­dings of ETH Zurich and the Univer­sity of Zurich visible from three sides – south, west and north. The grounds of the Univer­sity Hospital of Zurich commence on the lower side of the curve. A tempo­rary buil­ding housing the Insti­tute of Medical Micro­bio­logy of the Univer­sity of Zurich borders the peri­meter at Gloria­strasse 28, while a listed buil­ding by Bruno Giaco­metti – also part of the Insti­tute of Medical Micro­bio­logy – borders the peri­meter at Gloria­strasse 30. The historic trees around the Giaco­metti buil­ding are under garden heri­tage protec­tion.

The new timber cons­truc­tion is encom­passed by the Gloria­strasse on three sides, which is why a tripar­tite leit­motif was chosen. This is expressed in terms of volume, programme, buil­ding tech­no­logy and a propor­tio­nate facade. In addi­tion to a volu­metric response to diverse situa­tions in the imme­diate vici­nity, a central task of the archi­tects lies in embed­ding the buil­ding made of untreated larch wood in the urban envi­ron­ment harmo­niously. The clear and succinct design of volume and facade allows the tempo­rary sports hall Glori­a­rank to assert itself within the stony univer­sity quarter.

Easy orien­ta­tion is achieved through vertical diffe­ren­tia­tion of usage, empha­sised by the archi­tects by using diffe­rent colours for the floor cove­ring of each storey: the ground floor features red linoleum, while the first floor is green and the second floor blue. Wall tiles in the wet areas also follow this colour scheme.

The front buil­ding accom­mo­dates chan­ging rooms, showers and WCs. These spaces are connected to the respec­tive halls via a central access space. A bit like a ruck­sack, the unheated volume contai­ning tech­nical instal­la­tions and storage areas is atta­ched to the front buil­ding and the hall volume.

While chan­ging and side rooms are cons­tructed using box girders, beech plywood is used for the large span widths required for the sports rooms on the first two floors. Glulam timber made of soft­wood spans the sports hall.

In line with the speci­fi­ca­tions, slope stabi­li­sa­tion in the north and west is desi­gned as part of the buil­ding. Circum­fe­ren­tial hori­zontal metal grating on the facade ensures venti­la­tion behind and under the cons­truc­tion. The foun­da­tions of the buil­ding are made with cast-in-place concrete that can be removed at the end of the usage period and reused.

To coun­teract vibra­tions, insu­la­tion and filling mate­rial is intro­duced loosely in wall and floor struc­tures, which can easily be removed and reused. Joint­less wear layers of floors can be removed during decon­s­truc­tion or repaired during opera­tion.

Elements such as flights of stairs, railings and doors can also be used again sepa­ra­tely or toge­ther in a tempo­rary sports hall in a diffe­rent place.