Therme Lindau

by | 3 Nov 2021 | Pools, Sports Grounds

Therme Lindau

All in

4a Archi­tekten & Trold­tekt

Minimalist charm and unique design, promising extensive bathing fun and maximum relaxation.

Therme Lindau offers a unique wellness and bathing landscape spread over 13,000 m² and including a spacious outdoor area with a spectacular view of both water and mountains.

Desi­gned by 4a Archi­tekten GmbH from Stutt­gart (Germany) and nestled in the beau­tiful land­scape between Eich­wald and Lake Cons­tance, the spa in Lindau is located on the shore of Lake Cons­tance.

The elon­gated new buil­ding features expan­sive windows and a wood/concrete facade, invi­ting you to linger in its unique well­ness and bathing land­scape spread over 13,000 square metres and inclu­ding a spacious outdoor area with a spec­ta­cular view of both water and moun­tains.

The elon­gated buil­ding was aligned with the edge of the shore. The ground floor features the various areas of expe­ri­ence. Above this, gently embedded in the land­scape between Eich­wald and Lake Cons­tance, lies the second level.
Google Maps

The water attractions in a total of six different pools include a lazy river, a wild stream complete with tube water slide, a water cave for children and a giant whirlpool for up to 30 people.

The spa features a family and sport pool, inclu­ding a 25-metre Olympic swim­ming pool and an expan­sive area boas­ting thermal baths, a well­ness centre and saunas.

An elegant and invi­ting dining area with a pool bar over­loo­king the lake, a fitness area as well as a spa area that can be booked for private use complete the premium well­ness offer.

The water attrac­tions in a total of six diffe­rent pools include massage loun­gers, bubble seats, neck jets, a lazy river, a 40-degree spring pool, a wild stream complete with tube water slide, a water play­ground, a water cave for children and a giant whirl­pool for up to 30 people. There are also diving towers, an inten­sive salt water floa­ting pool with under­water lighting as well as an under­water concert hall.

The Troldtekt acoustic panels absorb sound and go well with the overall design.

The mini­ma­list exposed concrete design combined with wood and stone elements is elegant and expres­sive. Large, parti­ally sloping concrete struc­tures subdi­vide the areas on the ground floor, crea­ting striking spatial scena­rios.

The building’s open ceiling design allows even more light to enter in addi­tion to the large windows.

The Trold­tekt acou­stic panels absorb sound and go well with the overall design, thus fulfil­ling a key role. Adding colourful high­lights in green, red and black, they contrast beau­tifully with the light walls and floor.

Project data

Architects

4a Archi­tekten GmbH
Hall­strasse 25
D — 70376 Stutt­gart

Client

Therme Lindau GmbH
Bäder­be­triebe Lindau

Acoustic ceiling

Trold­tekt GmbH
Frie­senweg 4 · Haus 12
D — 22763 Hamburg

Address

Therme Lindau
Eich­wald­straße 16–20
D — 88131 Lindau (Bodensee)

Opening

2021

Photograph

Olaf Wiechers

Author

Dipl.-Ing. Archi­tekt Olaf Wiechers
Büro für Archi­tektur  +  Medi­en­dienst­leis­tungen
Klaus-Groth-Str. 1
D — 21629 Neu Wulmstorf

(Adver­to­rial)

Photos

Videos

You may have more of this.

How can we be of service to you?

Contact

 

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Email
contact@moresports.network

Troldtekt Accoustic Ceiling

by | 3 Nov 2021 | Pools, Sports Grounds

Acoustic ceilings in swimming pools

Shhh.

Trold­tekt

To be successful in offering relaxation, the quality of the building materials used along with attractive facilities is crucial.

Ceiling and walls clad with Troldtekt acoustic panels effectively absorb the sounds of splashing, shouting and playing, thus contributing to pleasant acoustics in swimming centres.

Photos (3):
Münster-Kinder­haus Pool, © Torben Weiss

Escape from ever­yday life and expe­ri­ence rela­xing moments. This is what today’s guests expect from an indoor swim­ming pool. To offer this, not only attrac­tive features are required — the quality of the buil­ding mate­rials used also deter­mines the well-being of the guests and thus the success of the pool.

Ceiling and walls clad with Trold­tekt acou­stic panels effec­tively absorb the sounds of splas­hing, shou­ting and playing, thus contri­bu­ting to plea­sant acou­stics in swim­ming centres.

Cement-bonded wood wool panels are also durable, with a natural resis­tance to mois­ture. The flexible design options also offer considerable archi­tec­tural freedom.

Choo­sing mate­rials is a parti­cu­larly chal­len­ging process for archi­tects desig­ning swim­ming centres. Of course, the mate­rials have to aesthe­ti­cally match the archi­tec­tural idiom. But a number of func­tional requi­re­ments also need addres­sing.

Swim­ming centres are usually large spaces, high-ceilinged and with many glass or concrete surfaces. In combi­na­tion with the excited shrieks of children having fun in the water, this calls for acou­sti­cally exac­ting solu­tions. It is ther­e­fore important that the large ceiling and wall surfaces are clad with mate­rials that have a high absorp­tion coef­fi­cient – so they effec­tively soak up the sounds.

Envi­ron­ments with constant high humi­dity also place addi­tional demands on the strength and mois­ture tole­rance of the mate­rials. Finally, the expan­sive walls often need a very carefully conceived visual design.

Trold­tekt panels are chosen for many swim­ming centres – and outdoor baths – because the natural advan­tages of the cement-bonded wood wool panels perfectly match the requi­re­ments. You can read about five reasons why Trold­tekt is an ideal choice below.

Cement-bonded wood wool retains the essential qualities of the components used to produce it – the strength of cement and the natural breathability of wood.

Photos (3):
Nauti­land in Würz­burg, © Olaf Wiechers

Supe­rior acou­stics

The open struc­ture of Trold­tekt acou­stic panels absorbs sound effec­tively. The result is shorter rever­be­ra­tion times, mini­mi­sing unplea­sant noise – in the swim­ming pool areas and in the asso­ciated faci­li­ties (chan­ging rooms, café etc.).

» Read more about good acou­stics

Natural strength

Cement-bonded wood wool retains the essen­tial quali­ties of the compon­ents used to produce it – the strength of cement and the natural breat­ha­bi­lity of wood. Trold­tekt acou­stic panels are mois­ture-tole­rant and ther­e­fore extre­mely suitable as acou­stic ceilings in wet rooms. The panels cannot rot and do not attract fungal growth or other micro­or­ga­nisms.

The Danish Tech­no­lo­gical Insti­tute has docu­mented that Trold­tekt acou­stic panels are suitable for instal­ling in rooms with:

  • mois­ture levels of up to 98 per cent (+/- 2 per cent)
  • high tempe­ra­tures of up to at least 40 degrees.

Trold­tekt has thus achieved the highest CE marking level (D) for water resis­tance.

The docu­men­ta­tion shows that Trold­tekt is a robust choice for even the most humid and warm rooms such as swim­ming pools, shower rooms and well­ness depart­ments.

» Read more about natural strength

Effec­tive fire­pro­ofing

Wood alone is an organic and flammable mate­rial, but every single wood fibre in a Trold­tekt panel is encap­su­lated and protected by cement. Trold­tekt panels are ther­e­fore fire­proof without the use of any fire retar­dant or dange­rous chemi­cals.

Trold­tekt acou­stic panels are fire clas­si­fied under Euro­pean stan­dard EN 13501. Trold­tekt acou­stic panels are clas­si­fied as B‑s1,d0, which denotes the material’s reac­tion to fire. In prac­tice, this means that Trold­tekt panels are only weakly combus­tible and weakly heat and smoke-emit­ting.

» Read more about effec­tive fire protec­tion

Troldtekt panels can be used to create a unique look on large ceiling and wall surfaces, adding to the whole as sound-absorbing design elements.

Photos (3):
Kusel Swim­ming Pool, © Olaf Wiechers

Flexible design

Trold­tekt panels offer a number of diffe­rent design options. Through special instal­la­tion, colours or CNC machi­ning, the panels can be used to create a unique look on large ceiling and wall surfaces, adding to the whole as sound-absor­bing design elements.

Trold­tekt design solu­tions come with the same great tech­nical proper­ties as the classic Trold­tekt acou­stic panels.

» See the design options

Docu­mented sustaina­bi­lity

Trold­tekt is certi­fied in the silver cate­gory under the inter­na­tio­nally reco­g­nised Cradle to Cradle scheme.

The certi­fi­ca­tion was attained in part because the panels contain no subs­tances that are harmful to humans or the envi­ron­ment. They can ther­e­fore return to the biolo­gical cycle as nutri­ents, or to a tech­nical cycle as a raw mate­rial in cement produc­tion.

 

Ramboll has also outlined how Trold­tekt speci­fi­cally contri­butes points to areas such as total cost of owner­ship, indoor climate and mate­rials in the leading sustaina­bi­lity certi­fi­ca­tions – DGNB, LEED and BREEAM.

» Read more about docu­mented sustaina­bi­lity

Simple instal­la­tion

Trold­tekt panels are installed directly on battens on ceilings and walls or using profile systems such as suspended ceilings – with concealed or visible profiles. When instal­ling the panels, only a few screws are needed per panel. There is no need to use filler or paint after instal­la­tion.

The Trold­tekt series includes speci­ally desi­gned screws that match the panels’ stan­dard colours and struc­ture. If you choose Trold­tekt panels in custom colours, we can supply extra paint so you can dab the screws in the same colour.

» See more about instal­la­tion

Project data

Acoustic ceiling

Trold­tekt GmbH
Frie­senweg 4 · Haus 12
D — 22763 Hamburg

Author

Dipl.-Ing. Archi­tekt Olaf Wiechers
Büro für Archi­tektur  +  Medi­en­dienst­leis­tungen
Klaus-Groth-Str. 1
D — 21629 Neu Wulmstorf

(Adver­to­rial)

Photograph

Olaf Wiechers
Torben Weiss Münster-Kinder­haus Pool)

You may have more of this.

How can we be of service to you?

Contact

 

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Email
contact@moresports.network

Lochau Lido

by | 26 Jul 2021 | Pools

Lochau Lido

Here comes the summer

Innauer Matt Archi­tekten

Relaxed presentation of construction and material at Lake Constance.

The Lochau Lido is one of the most beautiful on Lake Constance. Between water and landscape, it has the appearance of having always been there.

In the spatial field between jetty and new mouth of the Kugel­beer­bach brook in the Austrian muni­ci­pa­lity of Lochau at the Lake of Cons­tance sits the flat, one-storey Lochau Lido buil­ding, right between lake and land­scape. Rest and acti­vity zones are kept close to the  buil­ding, leaving gene­rous areas for bathers. Long boun­dary walls along the cycle path give struc­ture to the surroun­ding space, defi­ning a safe, iden­ti­fiable area for parking bikes and guiding visi­tors to the widely roofed entrance area.

Lochau Lido’s wide, protec­tive roof, cove­ring various infra­struc­tural units, also serves as a gentle mediator between the building’s indoor and outdoor areas. Entrance area and shop/cafeteria form one unit, acces­sible from both street and lake side. The spacious terrace of the cafe­teria is sepa­rated from the lakes­hore by a slight diffe­rence in height with wall fencing that still keeps access barrier-free for both bathers and guests.

On the oppo­site side of the main entrance, in an econo­mical sequence of zones, are chan­ging, wet and locker areas. Short distances and compact arran­ge­ment of orga­niza­tional units charac­te­rize the building’s infra­struc­tural core.

The laid-back presentation of construction and material characterizes the new building, appearing so natural.

Subtle, deli­cate archi­tec­tural features and the direct expres­sion of cons­truc­tion and mate­ria­lity shape Lochau Lido’s character. The accom­panying wall panels along the cycle path provide stabi­lity. A simple wooden buil­ding is posi­tioned in this frame, its light struc­ture remi­nis­cent of a summery arbour. The imme­diacy of expres­sion and its simpli­city give the buil­ding a summery, laid-back charm.

Tech­nical units are posi­tioned on the roof above the respec­tive room units, allo­wing for short distances and highly effi­cient opera­tion. Clad in a galva­nized steel mesh, the inte­grated tech­nical equip­ment takes a back seat, clea­ring the stage for a striking, iden­ti­fiable, emble­matic new orien­ta­tion point on the lake.
Google Maps

In connection with the architecture, which is so clear, the Lochau Lido is another attraction on Lake Constance.

When plan­ning a buil­ding that is used only in summer, the choice of mate­rial is obvious. And so is, in terms of consis­tency, the choice of its load-bearing struc­ture. A large, flat wooden panel as a roof, mounted on a layer of beams, supported by a central spine of small walls of solid cross-lami­nated timber and a wide down­stand beam. Then, slender outer columns, each with an equally slender down­stand beam. 

All tech­nical and elec­trical systems are placed in an addi­tional roof struc­ture, a light steel skeleton frame resting on the roof slab on some points. The aesthetic quali­ties of the timber cons­truc­tion mentioned above make any clad­ding unneces­sary.

Lochau Lido shows a very lean and thus highly econo­mical cons­truc­tion.
Innauer Matt Archi­tekten

We did this.

Project data

Architects

Innauer Matt Archi­tekten ZT Gmbh
Krie­chere 70
CH — 6870 Bezau 

Client

Gemeinde Lochau

Address

Strandbad Lochau
Lindauer Str. 1
AU — 6911 Lochau

Opening

2020

Photograph

Adolf Bereuter

Author

Innauer Matt Archi­tekten

You may have more of this.

How can we be of service to you?

Contact

 

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Email
contact@moresports.network

Rulantica

by | 10 Mar 2021 | Pools

Silent giant

The Rulan­tica indoor water world

Adver­to­rial

 

 

pbr & Trold­tekt Acou­stic panels
”

Situation

The incom­pa­rable Rulan­tica fairy tale water world in Baden-Würt­tem­berg offers adven­turous and extra­or­di­nary aquatic fun for the whole family. The gigantic water park with an area of 40,000 square metres is located in the imme­diate vici­nity of Euro­pa­park Rust, Germany’s largest amuse­ment park.

Embedded within 450,000 m² premises, which also includes a hotel, the magical Scan­di­na­vian water world comprises nine elabo­ra­tely themed areas that are popu­lated by fantasy crea­tures such as mermaids, trolls and sea mons­ters.

Rulan­ti­ca’s attrac­tions include 17 water slides, the largest wave pool in Germany, a flow channel, several water play­grounds for diffe­rent age groups and water­falls.

Google Maps

Rulantica

Behind Rulan­ti­ca’s imagi­na­tive and mystical scenery there is also a diverse story based on the youth book series with the same name by Michaela Hanauer. The story tells about the orphan Mats and the mermaid Aquina from the myste­rious island of Rulan­tica in the North Sea.

The park’s inte­rior comprises a 32,000 m² large hall that is 20 metres in height, the shape of which is remi­nis­cent of a shell. It is traversed by one of the largest wooden roofs in Europe, made of natural wooden trusses (span­ning up to 50 metres) and supported by five circu­larly arranged concrete columns with a diameter of 1.20 m.

Construction

A complex venti­la­tion concept ensures that inlet air flows in from above and the air is drawn in at the lower area of the hall. The tech­no­logy was installed in speci­ally deve­loped wooden frame­work boxes. In this way, pollut­ants are opti­mally removed from the water surface.

The main facade is divided into five 33-metre-wide elements by facade towers. With their filigree steel and glass cons­truc­tions, they allow a noti­ceable amount of daylight into the hall.

pbr

Ceilings

The fact that it is surpri­singly quiet in the impres­sive Rulan­tica bathing world is, on the one hand, due to the many rocks and deco­ra­tive elements, and, on the other hand, due to the Trold­tekt acou­stic panels built into the ceiling.

The panels, which are suitable for damp rooms and made from the 100 percent natural buil­ding mate­rials wood and cement, are charac­te­rised by excel­lent sound-absor­bing proper­ties. The acou­stic panels were also installed in the heavily frequented foyer and in the chan­ging room area.

Trold­tekt

We did ths.

Project data

Architect

pbr
Planungs­büro Rohling AG
Haupt­sitz Osna­brück
Albert-Einstein-Straße 2
D — 49076 Osna­brück

Ceiling

Trold­tekt A/S
Sletvej 2A
DK — 8310 Tranbjerg J

Client

Europa-Park Frei­zeit und Fami­li­en­park Mack KG
Europa-Park-Straße 2
D ‑77977 Rust

Physical address

Rulan­tica
Roland-Mack-Ring 1
D — 77977 Rust

Opening

2019

Photograph

David Franck
Olfa Wiechers (Bilder 3+4)

Author

Olaf Wiechers, Archi­tekt
Büro für Archi­tektur  +  Medi­en­dienst­leis­tungen
Klaus-Groth-Str. 1
D — 21629 Neu Wulmstorf

© David Franck

Photos

Contact

How can we be helpful?

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Mail
contact@moresports.network

Isfuglen

by | 10 Mar 2021 | Pools, Sports Grounds

Hot and cold with a view

The Isfuglen winter bathing club

Adver­to­rial

 

 

Matters & Trold­tekt Acou­stic panels
”

Situation

The winter bathing club “Isfuglen” (King­fi­sher) at Brøndby harbour has created a great club­house. Club members can enjoy cold goose­bumps, hot saunas and a cosy get-toge­ther here.

With its jetties, yachts and leisure acti­vi­ties, Brøndby harbour is a char­ming meeting place for resi­dents living south-west of Copen­hagen. Almost all of the many small wooden houses are painted red. The Isfuglen winter bathing club has also taken up the tradi­tion of rust-red wood.

Google Maps

Identity

At the very edge of the harbour cons­truc­tion, the wooden struc­ture catches the eye and welcomes ever­yone who enters the harbour by boat.

Its opening to the water is one of the many quali­ties of Isfuglen. From the large terrace that connects the club­house with the main pier, members can enjoy the view of the open Baltic Sea. There are benches here that invite you to linger.

Trold­tekt

Programme

Inside, Isfuglen offers club members access to a sauna with a pano­r­amic view of the sea and the horizon. Further faci­li­ties are of course chan­ging rooms, showers and toilets.

The main room with a kitchenette is gene­rously dimen­sioned and warm. The walls are made of plywood, the ceiling has Trold­tekt acou­stic panels as clad­ding. Winter bathers like to meet here for morning coffee.

Matter

Atmosphere

The large windows and glazed doors allow for close contact with the harbour and the sky above. The room is flooded with daylight and the created atmo­sphere is fanta­stic.

The wood and the Trold­tekt panels under­line the warm atmo­sphere and create great inte­rior acou­stics. The inte­rior appears simple and complex at the same time. This is due to the fact that the ceilings reflect the shape of the small gable roofs with which the wooden house ensemble is covered. A mirror wall reflects the great view of the buil­ding’s inte­rior. Inside and outside become one.

We did this.

Project data

Architect

Matters
Ewalds­gade 7, 1. sal
DK — 2200 Køben­havn N

Ceiling

Trold­tekt A/S
Sletvej 2A
DK — 8310 Tranbjerg J

Client

Brøndby Kommune

Physical address

Isfuglen
Brøndby Havn
Brøndby Havn­evej 35, Sydøen
DK — 2650 Hvidovre

Opening

2019

Photograph

Helene Høyer Mikkelsen

Author

Helene Høyer Mikkelsen

Contact

How can we be helpful?

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Mail
contact@moresports.network

Ernst Ulrich Tillmanns

by | 10 Mar 2021 | Pools, Text & Interview

A day at the sea

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns on cons­truc­ting swim­ming pools
”

Introduction

Imagine diving into cool, clear water under a blue sky on a warm summer’s day – as Die Fantas­ti­schen Vier (The Fanta­stic Four) describe in their song “Ein Tag am Meer (A day by the sea)”.

“Du spürst die Lebens­en­ergie (You feel the energy of life)
Die durch dich durch­fließt (That flows through you)
Das Leben wie noch nie in Harmonie und genießt (Life like never before in harmony and you enjoy it)
Es gibt nichts zu verbes­sern (There is nothing that can be improved)
Nichts was noch besser wär’ (Nothing that could be even better)
Außer dir im Jetzt und Hier (Except you in the here and now)
Und dem Tag am Meer (And the day at the sea)”

It is precisely this expe­ri­ence of a refres­hing swim outdoors that Ernst Ulrich Till­manns and his colle­agues from 4a Archi­tekten strive for when desig­ning swim­ming pools. 4a Archi­tects have already desi­gned, built or reno­vated nume­rous swim­ming pools in Germany, Austria and Russia – and have won several prizes in the process.

Each swimming pool is different

“Good swim­ming pools combine effi­cient func­tion­a­lity with an invi­ting atmo­sphere,” says Ernst Ulrich Till­manns, mana­ging director of 4a Archi­tects. “Every swim­ming pool is diffe­rent. No matter whether you are buil­ding a modern well­ness club from expen­sive mate­rials or reno­vating a simple swim­ming pool from the 1960s. It is always possible to come up with a good design in which guests feel comfor­table. First and fore­most, the bathing faci­li­ty’s func­tion­a­lity and the atmo­sphere have to be observed.

Essen­tial design elements are light and colour, with which diffe­rent areas can be accen­tuated.

Trold­tekt

Avoid slaughterhouses

In order for the buil­ding to fulfil its intended func­tion perfectly, all areas must be connected and well orga­nised. Guests should find their way around with ease, the available space must be used opti­mally.

“It is very important not to waste space and to ensure that the design is as trans­pa­rent as possible. If you start plan­ning early, you can save a lot of money,” says Ernst Ulrich Till­manns. “The atmo­sphere of the buil­ding is just as important. Some older swim­ming pools, like slaugh­ter­houses, have white tiles and ther­e­fore look rather cold. Instead, it’s better crea­ting a warm and invi­ting feeling of well­ness. Ther­e­fore, choo­sing the right mate­rials is crucial.”

4a Archi­tects

Wood and water

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns has his favou­rite among the available mate­rials: wood.

“There is a lot of water at ground level. Tiles and concrete are preferable there. But a metre above that, wood is a very good mate­rial, both for the walls and ceilings. It is a natural mate­rial that does not corrode, lends a great atmo­sphere and is resistant.”

In the form of ceiling tiles, wood also ensures plea­sant acou­stics, which is a very decisive factor for a swim­ming pool to become a success.

Nature at the pool

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns speaks up for an archi­tec­ture that brings nature into the inte­rior of the buil­ding.

“Since we humans prefer swim­ming outdoors, it is important to create the impres­sion that you are being active outdoors. This can be achieved with large glass surfaces that create a visual connec­tion between the inte­rior and exte­rior. Other options are light colours and wood wool to carry the outside atmo­sphere inside. We did this, for example, when reno­vating the Lochenbad, a smaller swim­ming pool from the 1970s. With bright green acou­stic panels and large glass surfaces, it seems as if bathers are immersed in a natural land­scape”.

The importance of acoustics

Wood wool should not only create a natural atmo­sphere. Ernst Ulrich Till­manns empha­sises the importance of acou­stics in the pool area, espe­ci­ally when large glass surfaces are part of the room that is already domi­nated by hard surfaces.

“It is very important to use acou­stic mate­rials for the ceilings. People should be able to have fun and relax. A pool area with poor acou­stics is bad for the brain. I once visited an older swim­ming pool with a large glass dome over the swim­ming pool area. The noise level was almost unbe­arable.”

Variety

He concludes: “If mate­rials enable variety of design in addi­tion to acou­stic proper­ties, this offers us archi­tects great poten­tial.

One example is the recently opened water and leisure park in Kusel. The coloured ceiling elements in parti­cular lend the buil­ding a special charm. With their colour scheme, which is based on a colourful field of flowers, they lend the indoor pool a cheerful atmo­sphere and, last but not least, its own iden­tity.”

We did this.

Contacts

Architect

4a Archi­tekten GmbH
Hall­strasse 25
D — 70376 Stutt­gart

Ceiling

Trold­tekt A/S
Sletvej 2A
DK — 8310 Tranbjerg J

Photograph

All Photos: Vitalbad Kusel

Olaf Wiechers, Archi­tekt
Büro für Archi­tektur  +  Medi­en­dienst­leis­tungen
Klaus-Groth-Str. 1
D — 21629 Neu Wulmstorf

Author

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
More Sports Media

Contact

How can we be helpful?

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Mail
contact@moresports.network

Kusel swimming pool

by | 14 Jan 2021 | Pools

Not everybody has this

Kusel swim­ming pool

 

 

 

4a Archi­tects
”

Situation

In order to enable bathing to continue econo­mic­ally, the exis­ting bathing land­scape of the Kusel swim­ming pool – Vitalbad Kusel – needed to a very large extent to be decon­s­tructed and rebuilt.

The aim of the design was to develop the func­tional new cons­truc­tion as an attrac­tive land­scaped bathing area with a high quality of space in which to spend time and a distinct character and to make maximum use of synergy effects.

Google Maps

Kusel

The muni­ci­pa­lity of Kusel nestles sceni­cally in the natural region of the Pala­ti­nate Uplands and with 5,400 inha­bi­tants it is Germany’s second smal­lest district town. The Vitalbad aquatic and recrea­tional park is located at the north-western edge of the town.

The aim of the rede­ve­lo­p­ment of Kusel swim­ming pool was to increase the attrac­ti­ve­ness of the aquatic park and to increase the feel-good factor as weil as brin­ging the baths tech­ni­cally up to date.

Original

The original single-storey buil­ding was orga­nised for classic bathing from east to west. compri­sing a foyer with cate­ring faci­li­ties, chan­ging areas and a bathing hall with pools for non-swim­mers and for swim­mers, diving towers, a slide faci­lity and an outdoor pool acces­sible from indoors. The outdoor pool area with outbuil­dings and sunbathing lawns used to be adja­cent to the south.

In order to enable economic bathing in future, Kusel swim­ming pool had to be almost comple­tely stripped down to the bathing plat­form. Only the base­ment and the slide tower were retained.

All the parts of the exis­ting buil­ding were stripped back to their shell and provided with new surfaces on the floor, wall and ceiling.

4a Archi­tects

Aims

The basis for the alignment and design of Kusel swim­ming pool was the exis­ting base­ment on which the new buil­ding was erected. The shape and geometry of the swim­mers’ and non-swim­mers’ pools were retained in the exis­ting buil­ding but were re-tiled and the diving faci­lity was replaced.

The aim was to keep the shape of the buil­ding as compact as possible and to opti­mise the func­tional proce­dures, for example in order to be able to staff the pay desk and cate­ring area with only one person during off-peak periods.

Structure

Due to greater roof loads, the exis­ting spatial frame­work was replaced with a frame cons­truc­tion consis­ting of welded double‑T steel girders. The white steel girders are posi­tioned in a trans­verse direc­tion to the buil­ding and span across the entire width of the buil­ding.

A wooden subs­truc­ture with suspended light­weight wood-wool boards ensures excel­lent acou­stics within the buil­ding and lends a summer-fresh ambi­ence to the inte­rior space. In order to reduce the volume of the buil­ding, the height of the buil­ding was adapted to the use of each area as part of the rede­ve­lo­p­ment.

Trold­tekt Accou­stic Ceiling

Ceiling

The ceiling height of the ancil­lary rooms is lower compared with the bathing hall, while the roof in the diving area turns upwards.

In addi­tion, the façade was repo­si­tioned outwards so that the supports for the steel load-bearing system stand inside the buil­ding. This prevents the ener­ge­ti­cally disad­van­ta­geous pene­tra­tion of the outer skin while addi­tional surfaces are gained.

Functionality

The entrance to the indoor and outdoor pools remains on the south side of the buil­ding. Along the glazed entrance façade, a roof over­hang provides a protected outdoor area towards the outdoor pool.

Via the trans­par­ently desi­gned foyer with a cate­ring area, bathers gain their first views into the bathing area and reach the bathing hall via the chan­ging areas and sani­tary faci­li­ties. Struc­tu­rally, the ancil­lary rooms form three cubes with rounded edges between which there are passa­ge­ways with visual axes towards the bathing hall.

Design

A brightly coloured design runs throug­hout the whole buil­ding. The fresh ceiling design in parti­cular gives Kusel swim­ming pool a unique iden­tity and a cheerful atmo­sphere. In contrast to this, the wall and floor surfaces were desi­gned in calm, dark shades.

The addi­tional bathing offe­ring with a new child­ren’s area and hot whirl­pool and the extended recrea­tional and recli­ning areas like­wise increase the welco­ming quality of the new aquatic park.

Outdoor area

The water surfaces in the outdoor pool area were reduced in order to make the running of the baths more econo­mical. There is no need for a non-swim­mers’ pool and, with four lanes, the new stain­less-steel swim­mers’ pool is smaller than in the original cons­truc­tion.

The recrea­tional pool remains in the original struc­ture after the rede­ve­lo­p­ment of the pool border and surroun­dings.

Additions

A new outdoor child­ren’s pool and a mud area were added for younger bathers. A new chan­ging buil­ding was also added cons­tructed as a cold buil­ding. The kiosk between the swim­mers’ pool and the slide faci­lity remained in the original buil­ding.

The base­ment had tobe struc­tu­rally extended for the tech­nical instal­la­tions of the indoor and outdoor pools.

Budget

The tight budget for the rede­ve­lo­p­ment of Kusel swim­ming pool is reflected in certain para­me­ters, for example the volume of the buil­ding, the water surfaces and also, in part, the design of the surfaces.

lrre­spec­tive of this, it was possible to form the indoor and outdoor pools as a unit in terms of design and func­tion­a­lity and to give the new Vitalbad a brightly coloured radi­ance and an iden­tity of its own.

We did this.

Project data

Architect

4a Archi­tekten GmbH
Hall­straße 25
D — 70376 Stutt­gart

Project team

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns
Torsten Hannig, Jonas Straß, Joanna Lack­or­zynska, Charlie Lang, Alena Zgor­skaya
Sylvia Gmelin

Client

Vitalbad Pfälzer Berg­land GmbH

Physical address

Vitalbad Kusel
Trierer Straße 194
D — 66869 Kusel

Ceiling

Trold­tekt® Akus­tik­platten

Ceramic Tiles

Agrob Buchtal

Photograph

David Matthiessen, Stutt­gart

Author

4a Archi­tects

© David Matthiessen

Photos

Design

Plans

Contact

How can we be helpful?

Address
More Sports Media
Am Weit­kamp 17
D‑44795 Bochum

Phone
+49 234 5466 0374
+49 172 4736 332

Mail
contact@moresports.network

Jamsil Hangang Park

by | 25 Aug 2020 | Outdoor, Pools

Curving & connecting

Jamsil Hangang Park in Seoul

100 Architects

About

A crea­tive inter­na­tional colla­bo­ra­tion between 100 Archi­tects (Shanghai), Carve (Amsterdam) and Urien (Seoul), with the local coor­di­na­tion & support of the land­scape archi­tect Walter Ryu, has resulted in this proposal for a leisure faci­lity in Seoul, South Korea.

Bring back the glory

With the purpose of impro­ving the exis­ting public faci­lity of the Swim­ming Pool in Jamsil Hangang Park, the Muni­ci­pa­lity of Seoul laun­ched a compe­ti­tion for a design solu­tion that would bring back the former glory of this 30-years-old faci­lity on the banks of the Hang River.

Not only by reno­vating the Swim­ming Pools them­selves, but also seeking a solu­tion that would reac­ti­vate the entire Park as a public desti­na­tion within the City of Seoul.

Bring back nature

Our mission tran­s­cended the reno­va­tion of the exis­ting pools, targe­ting the reestab­lish­ment of the natural land­scape and fulfil­ling an entire urban rege­ne­ra­tion, turning Hangang Park into a major urban and ecolo­gical land­mark for the city of Seoul, to be used throug­hout all seasons.

The proposal unifies the pool complex with the surroun­ding cultural faci­li­ties. On the West, the Sagak Sagak Artistic Area, and on the East, the Bota­nical Lear­ning Center. The plan connects those 3 faci­li­ties through a system of mean­de­ring inter­weaved pede­strian paths, allo­wing easy pede­strian acces­si­bi­lity between all of them, trans­forming the entire river­front into a promi­nent public natural desti­na­tion.

Taegeuk

The joint proposal draws its inspi­ra­tion from Taegeuk, the tradi­tional Korean symbol which can be found in the National Flag of South Korea, as a very honored, loyal illus­tra­tive and reco­gnizable shape. A perfect circle split in two halves, red & blue, repre­sen­ting the balance in the universe.

The search for this balance between nature & archi­tec­ture, is the core of our design, trans­la­ting the Taegeuk into a circular archi­tec­tural object, a pede­strian walkway that encloses the main pool faci­lity. This circular walkway is inter­rupted at the river­bank, hove­ring over the river, a belve­dere allo­wing amazing views over the Hang River.

The walkway

Curving upwards towards the highway, the elevated pede­strian walkway shields the pools from the traffic noise. At the same time, it accom­mo­dates neces­sary indoor faci­li­ties under its roof.

It flat­tens at the inter­sec­tion with the river­front prome­nade, in order to ease pede­strian connec­ti­vity; and finally, it protrudes over the river­bank, crea­ting two walkable piers over­loo­king both, the river and the restored nature of the river­bank.

Valuable interaction

The undu­la­ting intert­wined pede­strian paths create oppor­tu­ni­ties and affor­dances for the park’s public program. Program­matic inter­ven­tions for enter­tain­ment and leisure spaces within the natural envi­ron­ment are envi­sioned, offe­ring valuable inter­ac­tions with nature. Spaces for prac­ti­cing a wide range of sports, resting areas, shading struc­tures and natural kids play­scapes, resul­ting in a multi­func­tional park suitable for all kind of ages.

All pools are desi­gned in a sustainable way to natu­rally clean its water by using a helo­phyte filte­ring system with reeds planted around the pools. The treat­ment of clea­ning the water is natu­rally done by bacteria living in the roots of the planted reeds.

We did this.

Project data

Architect

100 Archi­tects

Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Lara Broglio, Mónica Páez, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Ponyo Zhao, Elena Miche­lutti

Architect

Carve

Elger Blitz, Marleen Beek, Elke Kraus­mann, Susanna Vissani, Gaia Gleriani, Wilco Spruyt

Client

Seoul Metro­po­litan City

Address

Jamsil Hangang Park Pool
Seoul, South Korea

Illustrations

100 Archi­tects

Author

100 Archi­tects

Illustrations

Plans

Video

Our Blog

Tell me more.

Our Newsletter

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus

by | 14 May 2020 | Pools

Naked in Salzburg

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus

Berger+Parkkinen Architekten, Agrob Buchtal

About

The Para­celsus Bad & Kurhaus, which opened in the 4th quarter of 2019, is already excep­tional because it is located in the middle of the city of Salz­burg (Austria) as a five-storey spa, bathing and sauna world. In addi­tion, the archi­tects from the Vien­nese office Berger+Parkkinen created an impres­sive buil­ding sculp­ture which offers a high degree of secu­rity despite its exten­sive open­ness.

Wall and floor tiles of the Savona series of Agrob Buchtal play a key role in this.
Google Maps

Situation

The new Para­celsus Bad & Kurhaus is located on the edge of Salz­burg’s old town, which is protected as a UNESCO World Heri­tage Site — directly next to the spa gardens and Mira­bell Castle, where people have been bathing and reco­ve­ring already for more than 150 years.

Conti­nuing this tradi­tion was one of the most important goals of the City of Salz­burg when it decided to demo­lish the outdated previous buil­ding from the 1950s and replace it by a new buil­ding with an enlarged range of faci­li­ties.

Three areas

Anyone approa­ching the new buil­ding from the spa gardens will come across a slightly curved mono­li­thic struc­ture, whose clad­ding of vertical marble-white ceramic lamellar elements provides exten­sive open­ness at the same time. “It is only at second glance that you become aware of the classic buil­ding divi­sion into base, beletage and upper floor”, says archi­tect Alfred Berger.

Base floor

The gymnastics, massage and therapy rooms of the Kurhaus as well as the entrance and chan­ging rooms of the swim­ming pool and sauna area are located on the three levels of the base floor.

Behind the glass facade of the beletage, the ceiling of the swim­ming hall, modelled as a gently undu­la­ting spatial sculp­ture, is clearly visible. Above it are the pool and sauna restau­rant as well as the sauna area with four saunas, steam bath and roof terrace with Infi­nity Pool.

Arrival

The fact that the archi­tects have succeeded in crea­ting a uniformly desi­gned buil­ding despite inde­pendently arti­cu­lated areas is already evident in the entrance hall. The focal point is a wide “stairway to heaven” with marble-white terrazzo steps and landings, which seems to lead straight under the undu­la­ting ceiling of the swim­ming hall.

Only when one has reached the cash desk on the 2nd upper floor leading to the bathing and sauna area, the large fixed glazing sepa­ra­ting the entrance area from the bathing world becomes visible.

Changing areas

After the access control, the visi­tors first enter the chan­ging area, whose chan­ging cubicles, striped in light green and blue, are remi­nis­cent of airy beach chairs by the sea.

The 60 cm long porce­lain stone­ware tiles from Agrob Buch­t­al’s Savona series, laid alter­na­tely in 20 and 30 cm wide strips on walls and floors, also fit into this picture. Their lively, moving surfaces in the shade of lime, toge­ther with the irre­gu­la­rity of the free bond, create a secure, earthy-warm room atmo­sphere.

Stairway to heaven

Via the upper part of the “stairway to heaven”, the bathers finally reach the swim­ming hall with diving plat­form, sports, child­ren’s and family pool. This stair­case opens up visual refe­rences to the entrance hall as well as to the chan­ging and bathing areas and thus signi­fi­cantly faci­li­tates orien­ta­tion in the buil­ding.

It is parti­cu­larly impres­sive when bathers arrive at the large, light-flooded swim­ming hall on their way up — as if “emer­ging” directly from the ground. There, they not only find a spacious bathing land­scape with a seemingly weight­lessly mean­de­ring suspended ceiling, but also a variety of views of Salz­burg’s old town and the spa gardens.

Colour composition

A contrast to this over­whel­ming spec­tacle of nature and forms is the restrained colour and mate­rial concept of the bathing land­scape. The sand-brown or white surfaces of the walls and the ceiling are predo­mi­nant, as are the floors, which are also comple­tely covered with lime-coloured tiles from the Savona series.

Thanks to the same size, colour and laying method as in the chan­ging room and the upper “stairway to heaven”, the entire chan­ging and bathing area appears as a coherent space conti­nuum.

The only and thus deter­mi­ning colour accent is provided by the water basins glowing in light turquoise, which are atmo­sphe­ri­cally remi­nis­cent of the many crystal-clear moun­tain lakes in the vici­nity of Salz­burg. This effect is based on 12.5 x 25 cm wall and floor tiles of the Chroma Pool series in the shade of medium turquoise. “The glaze makes the water appear in a natural way as if it were shim­me­ring by itself”, explains Berger.

View of the Mönchsberg

As an inte­gral part of the space conti­nuum of the bathing land­scape, the entire floor of the sauna area on the 5th floor also has porce­lain stone­ware tiles from the Savona series laid in strips, there however in the colour anthr­acite. This colour perfectly harmo­nizes with the wood-covered walls, but also refers to the dark, rugged Mönchs­berg rock, one of the land­marks of Salz­burg’s old town.

The tiles are not only to be found in the access and rest areas, but also as an archi­tec­tural link in the showers and in the saunas, some of which are oriented towards the glass facade. “The possi­bi­lity of being able to use Savona anywhere in the swim­ming bath in prin­ciple — on the floor and walls as well as in the water and in the sauna — was decisive for us when it came to selec­ting a suitable tile”, says Berger.
Visit Berger+Parkkinen

Infinity Pool on the roof terrace

In both senses of the word, the high­light of every sauna visit at the Para­celsus Bad & Kurhaus undoub­tedly is the outdoor pool on the southern roof terrace, desi­gned as Infi­nity Pool. A small part of the pool serves the sauna guests as a cold plunge pool, while the rest is desi­gned as a 32° warm brine pool.

Thanks to the raised pool on the roof surface with elevated water level and a low over­flow channel on the outside, the view of almost the whole of Salz­burg is unob­s­tructed.

The gently rounded pool edges and the anthr­acite-coloured 5 x 5 cm mosaic tiles of the Chroma Plural series create a deli­cate small-scale struc­ture conveying a feeling of secu­rity and well-being in the pool, which is desi­gned as a nude bathing area. 

Conclusion

Even though the buil­ding opens to the city in many places, this feeling of secu­rity can be expe­ri­enced ever­y­where. It is created not least by the plea­santly consis­tent design concept, which is based on natural colours and mate­rials and thus offers an intui­tively sensual bathing world — an important aspect in a place where people meet in vulnerable nudity.

The Para­celsus Bad & Kurhaus offers great gestures and finest details. It offers its guests a wide range of services in many diffe­rent areas. Through the skilful combi­na­tion of flowing floor plans and rich mate­rials, it is an extra­or­di­nary expe­ri­ence in every space.
Visit Agrob Buchtal

We did this.

Compa­nies involved & Links

Client

Photos

Michael Chris­tian Peters
Chris­tian Rich­ters

Text

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
More Sports Media

Architectes

Berger+Parkkinen Archi­tekten
Schön­brunner Straße 213–215
A — 1120 Wien

Opening

2019

Tiles

Agrob Buchtal GmbH
Buchtal 1
D‑92521 Schwar­zen­feld

 

Address

Para­celsus Bad & Kurhaus
Auer­sperg­straße 2
A — 5020 Salz­burg

 

Plans

Videos

Visit our blog

Show me more.

Our Newsletter

Hubertus Pool

by | 28 Mar 2020 | Pools

Eye in the sky

Hubertus Pool Olang

noa* network of architecture

Hotel Hubertus

The Hotel Hubertus is located in Valdaora, at the foot of the famous ski and hiking area Kron­platz in the Puster Valley at an alti­tude of about 1350 m.

The family estab­lish­ment was gene­rously enhanced and enlarged with 16 new suites, a new kitchen with restau­rants and “Stuben”, an entrance area with lobby, recep­tion and wine cellar and a fitness and a rela­xa­tion room with pano­r­amic terraces.

The new 25 m long pool, func­tio­ning as a connector between old and new, under­lines the essence of this compre­hen­sive reno­va­tion and renewal project.
Google Maps

Hubertus Pool

The new Hubertus Pool, which impo­singly rests in-between the two accom­mo­da­tion wings, seems like a floa­ting rock, come to rest at the site, over­loo­king the valley. The hidden edges of the pool, kept in anthr­acite-coloured stone, abolish the gap between pool and land­scape, crea­ting the impres­sion of the water flowing into nothing, disap­pearing between pool and land­scape.

The pool meta­pho­ri­cally reminds of a moun­tain lake, nestled into the asto­nis­hing moun­ta­in­s­cape of the UNESCO World Heri­tage site, the Dolo­mites.

Challenge

The key chall­enge in the project was to create a link between the exis­ting buil­ding and the new design, in order to keep a uniformal and consis­tent appearance. The debarked larch trunks, which were used as multi­func­tional façade elements for the exis­ting and new buil­ding, succeed in crea­ting this aesthe­tical connec­tion. The multi­func­tional façade elements of debarked larch trunks create an optical link between exis­ting and new, main­tai­ning the homo­ge­neous appearance of the project. They not only support the dyna­mics of the curved façade, but func­tion also as sunscreens, room divi­ders and rain protec­tors, further enhan­cing the feeling of privacy and in addi­tion to this forming the static basis for the canti­le­ve­ring pool and façade.

Floating

Hubertus Pool is floa­ting like a natural rock over the new accom­mo­da­tion wing. Without any visible boar­ders, a width of 5 m, a length of 25 m and a depth of 1,30 m the over 17 m canti­le­ve­ring pool can be seen as comple­tely unique.

The posi­tion of the pool, which floats 12 m above the ground, at its extreme edge, gives the swimmer the feeling of floa­ting – weight­lessly between heaven and earth. This impres­sion is further rein­forced by the glass front and a glazed window on the bottom of the pool.

Visit noa* network of archi­tec­ture

We did this.

Compa­nies involved & Links

Photos

Alex Filz

Text

noa* network of archi­tec­ture

Architect

noa* network of archi­tec­ture
Zions­kirchstr 56
I — 39100 Bolzano

Zions­kirch­straße 56
D — 10119 Berlin

Address

Hotel Hubertus
Via Furcia, 5
I — 39030 Soraf­urcia

Opening

2016

Plans

Videos

Visit our blog

Show me more.

Our Newsletter

Sportbad Friedrichshafen

by | 25 Feb 2020 | Pools, Vorlagen

Laid-back

Sportbad Friedrichshafen

Behnisch Architects

About

After the relo­ca­tion of the trade fair to the nearby airport, an attrac­tive sports and leisure area was created on the old fair grounds at Ried­le­park in addi­tion to a shop­ping centre. Situated right next to the ZF-Arena, the complex houses Friedrichshafen’s new aquatic sports center as well as a parking garage.

Behnisch Archi­tekten has desi­gned the new aquatic sports center Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen as a buil­ding that reveals its quali­ties from the inside out: this newbuild, with its diffe­ren­tiated roofs­cape, is arranged around a land­scaped internal cour­tyard and resem­bles an island of rela­xa­tion and recup­er­a­tion. A sport pool, sauna area and water features all contri­bute to a diverse amenity that appeals to adults, children, sport fans, and recrea­tional users alike.

The idea of flowing tran­si­tions in a two-storey bathing and sauna land­scape was skilfully imple­mented not least with tiles from the brands Agrob Buchtal and Jasba.
Google Maps

Access

The newly completed public area situated between the aquatic sports center, parking garage, and ZF-Arena will func­tion as an open-air space for many diffe­rent purposes. Vehicles are banned from the fore­court in front of the center, making it an attrac­tive entrance for recrea­tional and athletic guests.

Behnisch Archi­tekten desi­gned a diffe­ren­tiated, well-propor­tioned ensemble struc­tured around an inte­rior cour­tyard and land­scaped garden. This island of rela­xa­tion opens up on a number of levels with attrac­tive exte­rior areas and a sauna garden. A conti­nuous roof is stag­gered in height, brin­ging the struc­ture toge­ther and harmo­niously linking the various func­tional sections.

The surroun­ding glass facades make the Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen reco­gnizable already from the outside as a bathing land­scape. The divi­sion into a spacious bathing area with swim­ming pool and child­ren’s pool on the ground floor and a more inti­mate upper floor with sauna, cate­ring and staff rooms is also easy to read.

Flooded with light, the foyer of the aquatic sports center welcomes visi­tors with a plea­sant atmo­sphere; it also gives indi­vi­dual guests and school and club groups suffi­cient space to meet up and spend some time. The trans­pa­rent design provides views through to the pool area and lets visi­tors get their initial bearings.

The pools

After people have walked past the ticket desk they divide up and go to diffe­rent desti­na­tions around the buil­ding. Sauna guests use a wide stair­case to access the upper level, while swim­mers pass the vanity areas to enter the chan­ging cubicles for indi­vi­dual and groups.

On a total water surface of around 1,200 m², several heated swim­ming pools and a variety of water attrac­tions are available on ground floor level. These include

- a swim­ming pool with six lanes

- a school and club pool with five lanes

- a course pool with movable floor

- a multi pool with floor bubbles and neck showers

- an outdoor saline pool with swim out channel, bubble loun­gers and massage jets

- a toddler pool

- an 83 m long water slide

All swim­ming pools and pool surrounds as well as the floors of all showers, chan­ging rooms and access areas are provided with finely coor­di­nated and precisely defined tile cove­rings of the brand Agrob Buchtal.

The sports pool is barrier-free and acces­sible at ground level. There is a mobile lift for wheel­chair users in the pool, which is driven to the desired pool by the staff.

Courtyard

The heart of the complex is the land­scaped inte­rior cour­tyard. From the outside this wonderful world is only discreetly discer­nible, although it never seems too heavily screened. It can only really be expe­ri­enced when the visitor enters the buil­ding and steps through to the inte­rior: an open-air section with patios and a sauna garden, enclosed from all sides and abun­dantly planted and brought to life with bushes and small trees.

Arranged around this inte­rior cour­tyard are the bathing areas, with a textile steam bath (swim­suits required), the external swim­ming channel, an area for babies and todd­lers featuring various attrac­tions, a lear­ners’ pool, a swim­mers’ pool, and an eighty-meter water slide. The pool for schools and clubs has an inte­grated diving section with one-meter, three-meter, and five-meter boards, and part of the floor can be raised or lowered.

Visit Behnisch Archi­tects

Atmosphere

The appearance of the bathing world on the ground floor is charac­te­rized in parti­cular by the high propor­tion of daylight, the spacious­ness and the consis­t­ently sporty, fresh and yet unob­tru­sive colours. The walls and ceilings appear in velvety fair-faced concrete or with warm wood clad­ding.

The essen­tial link for the seam­less tran­si­tions between the indi­vi­dual bathing areas are the porce­lain stone­ware floor tiles of the Trias series from Agrob Buchtal, which are uniformly finished in zinc grey. They were used in two formats: as a filigree 5 x 5 cm mosaic and as 30 x 60 cm tiles. This larger format was laid in free bond above all in the chan­ging rooms as well as in the access and rest zones.

The mosaic format also realized with ceramic tiles of the brand Agrob Buchtal can be found around the swim­ming pools and in the wet areas. On the one hand, because it reliably meets the requi­re­ments of slip resis­tance class R11/B and on the other hand, because connec­tions to other compon­ents such as drains, columns, gutters etc. or drai­nage areas can be realized more easily and aesthe­ti­cally with this small format.

The swimming area

The mate­rials used for the swim­ming area under­line its open and trans­pa­rent character, suffused with light. Patterned with holes and acou­sti­cally effec­tive, the warmly toned wooden ceiling makes for a plea­sant contrast.

All heated benches are covered with round mosaics not least because a specific advan­tage of this mate­rial is that it clings direc­tion­lessly and homo­ge­neously to such curved struc­tures like a tailor-made suit.

The chan­ging and sani­tary rooms are deco­rated bright yellow to compen­sate atmo­sphe­ri­cally for the absence of daylight.

What do you think?

The heated benches and circles

The orga­ni­cally shaped heated benches in sea green offer seating and lounging places for rela­xing. At the same time they set plea­sant colour accents and also struc­ture the bathing land­scape.

They have partial surfaces with round mosaics with a diameter of 1 cm, which then merge into round mosaics with a diameter of 2 cm via vertical surfaces. The hori­zontal surfaces of the heated benches were desi­gned in the slip-resistant R11/B version because it cannot be ruled out that young bathers will walk on them. The round mosaic of the Loop series also deco­rates the walls and the floor of the child­ren’s pool. In order to intui­tively convey to the little ones the incre­asing depth of water towards one side, the floor has an even colour gradient from light aqua blue to aqua blue over a length of 3 metres.

The archi­tects also decided in favour of round mosaics because circles play a key role in the buil­ding concept of smooth tran­si­tions. As a recur­ring design element, they have a signi­fi­cant influence on the general appearance of the sports pool: in addi­tion to round columns, skylights and lumi­n­aires, there are also acou­stic ceilings with round perfo­ra­tions.

Visit Agrob Buchtal

Sauna world

The sauna world on the upper level successfully inte­grates various kinds of sauna, inno­va­tive shower expe­ri­ences, a plunge pool, assorted quiet spaces featuring diffe­rent moods, and a room with an open hearth—all adding up to the perfect condi­tions for hours of rela­xa­tion.

The cate­ring faci­li­ties are situated on the upper level too, between the swim­ming and sauna areas; these can be used by visi­tors to both sections. An elegant open stair­case links not only the diffe­rent func­tions but also both levels at this point.

With regard to formats and loca­tions, the floor tiles of the Trias series of Agrob Buchtal were used iden­ti­cally in the sauna area of the upper floor as in the bathing land­scape on the ground floor. The only diffe­rence is the slightly darker colour iron ore, which, toge­ther with the gene­rally warmer and eart­hier range of colours, creates a cosy room atmo­sphere.

Experience showers and sea steam bath

The archi­tects composed the expe­ri­ence showers with great atten­tion to details: they were also executed with round mosaics (2 cm diameter) from the Loop series in a speci­ally desi­gned colour gradient from coral-red to bronze-metallic to dark violet, produced by Agrob Buchtal espe­ci­ally for this project.

The sea steam bath offers another, like­wise unmist­akable colour world. Square 2 x 2 cm mosaics of the Amano series of the brand Jasba were used there. With the colours anthr­acite and pure blue as well as water­co­lour-like, glossy surfaces, this ceramic wall cove­ring makes atmo­spheric refe­rence to the under­water world of the nearby Lake Cons­tance.

Conclusion

The Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen follows a clear plan — from concept to detail. The whole is more here than the sum of its parts and makes the Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen a model for unpre­ten­tious but at the same time memo­rable archi­tec­ture.

The Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen is a show­case example of how strong the emotional effect of ceramic wall and floor tiles can be. The great variety of colours, forms and formats in this project is never an end in itself, but always part of a sensuous holi­stic overall compo­si­tion, which lives not least from details that are initi­ally hardly noti­ceable, such as, for example, the letter plates made of floor tiles from the series Trias of Agrob Buchtal, which indi­cate the depth of the water at the pool edges.

Instead of using stan­dard off-the-shelf stain­less steel panels, the archi­tects wanted to use tiles of diffe­rent colours to create a homo­ge­neous appearance. After cutting out the nume­rals using water jet tech­no­logy, the parts were reas­sem­bled, pointed and inte­grated as “ceramic inlays” with a casual natu­ral­ness — one of many proofs for the successful symbiosis of unob­tru­sive crea­ti­vity and archi­tec­tural strin­gency.

Laid-back.

We did this.

Compa­nies involved & Links

Client

City of Fried­richs­hafen
Stadt­bauamt Fried­richs­hafen
Char­lot­ten­straße 12
D — 88046 Fried­richs­hafen

 

Operator

City of Fried­richs­hafen
Amt für Bildung, Betreuung und Sport
Bäder­be­triebe
Sport­park 1
D — 88046 Fried­richs­hafen

 

Architects

Behnisch Archi­tekten
Rote­bühl­straße 163A
D — 70197 Stutt­gart

 

Address

Sportbad Fried­richs­hafen
Am Sport­park 1
D — 88045 Fried­richs­hafen

Opening

2019

Tiles

Agrob Buchtal GmbH
Buchtal 1
D‑92521 Schwar­zen­feld

 

Photos

©Behnisch Architekten/Agrob Buchtal
Fotos: David Matthiessen

Text

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
More Sports Media

Plans

Videos

Visit our blog

Show me more.

Our Newsletter

werk12

by | 25 Feb 2020 | Pools, Sports Centres

BOAH!

WERK12 in Munich

MVRDV

AAHHH

The design of WERK12 combines a simple form, honest mate­rials, and trans­pa­rent façades. Users can move around the buil­ding in multiple ways: the design’s external circu­la­tion core on the building’s northe­as­tern side is supple­mented by 3.25-metre-wide terraces that surround each floor of the buil­ding. These are connected by external stair­cases curling around the buil­ding to connect these gene­rous open spaces (a playful refe­rence to one of MVRDV’s most famous early projects, the Dutch Pavi­lion at the Expo2000 in Hanover). This public route up the buil­ding blurs the distinc­tion between inte­rior and exte­rior, placing the inte­rior spaces in conver­sa­tion with exte­rior balco­nies. These are addi­tio­nally finished in the same mate­rial as the ground-level side­walks to empha­sise their status as part of the public area of the buil­ding.

Google Maps

OH

The façade is animated by an urban art piece deve­loped in tandem with local artists Chris­tian Engel­mann and Beate Engl, compri­sing bold lette­ring spel­ling out common expres­sions taken from the German version of Donald Duck comics. This 5‑metre-tall lette­ring, and the collo­quial nature of the expres­sions chosen, are a tribute to the graf­fiti culture and exten­sive use of signage found on the old site. At night, the appearance of the buil­ding is trans­formed by its illu­mi­na­tion stra­tegy. Simple geome­tries and honest mate­rials morph into a vibrant light­show.

PUH

“The area of the Werks­viertel-Mitte district has already under­gone such inte­res­ting changes, trans­forming from a potato factory to a legen­dary enter­tain­ment district,” says foun­ding partner of MVRDV Jacob van Rijs. “With our design, we wanted to respect and cele­brate that history, while also crea­ting a foun­da­tion for the next chapter. WERK12 is stylish and cool on one hand, but on the other it doesn’t take itself so seriously – it’s not afraid to say ‘PUH’ to passers-by!”

HMPF

The five floors of the buil­ding are occu­pied by restau­rants and bars on the ground floor, the offices of Audi Busi­ness Inno­va­tions on the top floor, and a three-storey gym in between that includes one storey dedi­cated to a swim­ming pool. WERK12’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls, combined with its loca­tion near to the train station, provide the upper levels with stun­ning views towards central Munich, punc­tuated in places by the lette­ring on the building’s terraces – many of which take on a new meaning when read in reverse.

visit MVRDV

WOW

A key to the design was in the flexi­bi­lity of the spaces. The building’s extra-high ceilings – with 5.5 metres between each floor – allows for mezza­nines or other level changes to be added by future users. The place­ment of the circu­la­tion on the outside of the buil­ding means that the inte­riors can be easily recon­fi­gured, while also provi­ding struc­tural stabi­lity through the use of the diagonal stair­cases.

We did this.

Compa­nies involved & Links

Client

OTEC GmbH & Co. KG
ECKhaus | Atelier­straße 1
D — 81671 München

Opening

2019

Photos

Ossip van Duiven­bode
Halve­ma­an­pas­sage 103
NL — 3011DL Rotterdam

Architects

MVRDV Rotterdam
Achter­klooster 7
NL — 3011 RA Rotterdam
Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, Jacob van Rijs, Fokke Moerel, Markus Nagler, Roy Sieljes and Jona­than Schuster, Antonio Luca Coco, Pavlos Ventouris, Kirill Emelianov

N‑V-O Nuyken von Oefele Archi­tekten BDA
Winze­rer­strasse 44
D — 80797 München

Operator & Address

body + soul
WERK12
Spei­cher­strasse 20
D — 81671 München

 

Text

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
More Sports Media

Plans

Videos

Visit our blog

Show me more.

Our Newsletter

GDPR Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner