Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ

Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ in Budapest

Post-Games Pergola

A spectacular feature of the Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ is that the roof will be completely preserved after the event – and will be converted into a covered public space.

The stadium is part of a huge plan to revitalise a former industrial site – with a park, a bridge and a training centre.

The Nemzeti Atlé­tikai Központ (National Athle­tics Centre) is a stadium which was opened in June 2023 in the Feren­cváros district in the south of the Hunga­rian capital Buda­pest. It was built on the occa­sion of the 2023 World Athle­tics Cham­pi­on­ship to hold 40,000 seats. After the World Cham­pi­on­ship, the faci­lity on the Danube will be reduced to 15,000 seats for reuse.

The plan­ning was carried out by Napur Archi­tect Kft Buda­pest, the roof by Buro Happold and schlaich berger­mann partner (sbp).

The stadium is part of a huge plan to revi­ta­lise a former indus­trial site (Vituki). In addi­tion to the stadium, this includes a park, a bridge and a new trai­ning centre, which can be reached via this new bridge.

A spec­ta­cular special feature is that the upper tier with its 25,000 seats will be comple­tely dismantled after the World Athle­tics Cham­pi­on­ship, but the roof will be comple­tely preserved — and converted into a covered public space.

Architect

Napur Archi­tect Archi­tec­tural Office Ltd.

Client

ÉKM

Athletics tracks & equipment

Mondo

On weekdays, a running track, a roller skating rink, a street workout park, a training area and a street food service will be available here.

So the legacy of this event is likely to be spec­ta­cular: the Nemzeti Atlé­tikai Központ forms the centre of the new park in the reno­vated indus­trial area, inclu­ding the surroun­ding Danube bank area.

 In addi­tion, Buda­pest will receive a new public sports and recrea­tion park.

The stadium was built in the middle of the park. On week­days, instead of the tempo­rary upper tier, a covered and illu­mi­nated running track, a roller skating rink, a street workout park, a trai­ning area and a street food service will be available here.

The roof consists of a support struc­ture based on the spoked-wheel prin­ciple, consis­ting of compres­sion and tension rings, on each of which two video screens and display boards were hung at the edge of the roof in the curves.

Under the stands there is another running track, which can be used for warming up. All the running tracks are from Mondo.

All the running tracks are from Mondo. MONDOTRACK WS™ is almost half made of natural rubber and non-toxic, recy­cled mate­rials. So it meets the stric­test certi­fi­ca­tion criteria for the emis­sion of vola­tile organic compounds.

In addi­tion to the 14,000 m² running track, the other athle­tics equip­ment also comes from Mondo – for the first time in Buda­pest, it is tail­ored to the visual appearance of the event.

Address

Nemzeti Atlé­tikai Központ
Buda­pest
Hajóál­lomás u. 1
1095 Hungary

Opening

2023

In the future, the roof construction will form a kind of urban pergola, while the interior with its sports areas will serve as a publicly accessible urban space on the banks of the Danube.

The roof cons­truc­tion will be preserved after the compe­ti­tions, as will the entire lighting, sound and score­board systems. This will make it possible to host major inter­na­tional events here in the future as well – with the help of mobile grand­stands.

These mobile grand­stands in the upper tier can accom­mo­date up to 25,000 seats, but smaller capa­ci­ties are also possible. In any case, these tempo­rary struc­tures will be dismantled again after future events, and the vacated area will be returned to grass­roots sports.

The roof cons­truc­tion will then form a kind of urban pergola, while the inte­rior with its sports areas will serve as a publicly acces­sible, urban space on the banks of the Danube and ther­e­fore in the heart of Buda­pest.

The 2023 World Athle­tics Cham­pi­on­ship from 19th to 27th August will be the biggest sports event ever held in Hungary.

After that, it will actually become even more exci­ting.

Photos

Text

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
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Pompidou gymnasium

Georges Pompidou gymnasium

Community centre

A place of multiple uses in a dense urban context — and in dialogue with the city. The sports hall as a community centre.

The Gymnase Georges Pompidou is a link between the city’s historical heritage and the ambitions of its future development.

The recon­s­truc­tion of the Pompidou gymna­sium is a key phase in the rege­ne­ra­tion of a rapidly chan­ging neigh­bor­hood in Cour­be­voie. Taking advan­tage of its remar­kable loca­tion at the corner of the two major axes of the City, the project assumes an essen­tial func­tion of urban repair between the hete­ro­ge­neous buil­ding heights, a link between the histo­rical heri­tage of the City and the ambi­tion of future faci­li­ties.

The general sobriety of the buil­ding volume contri­butes to its urban inte­gra­tion and gives it the forma­lity of a public buil­ding.

The project chall­enge was to inte­grate a large number of func­tions and spaces within a small site: sports acti­vi­ties (sports hall with stands, dojo, trai­ning room, dance studio, outdoor playing fields), cultural acti­vi­ties (music rooms dedi­cated to the muni­cipal harmonic orchestra) but also the relo­cated muni­cipal public gardens service.

The building mainly houses sports activities: a sports hall with bleachers, a dojo hall, a training room, a dance studio and also outdoor courts.

The coexis­tence of these three enti­ties responds to very diffe­rent opera­tional cons­traints, hence the exch­ange with the extreme and neces­sary compact­ness of the buil­ding.

The proposal is based on the rational super­po­si­tion of these func­tions on three readily acces­sible levels. These access routes adapt to diffe­rent publics while provi­ding views and trans­pa­ren­cies over the entire project areas.

Large windows on the ground floor give pedestrians a good view of the interior, while the glazed areas on the upper floor offer perspectives of the neighbourhood.

The buil­ding engages in an inti­mate dialogue with the City which projects inside and, at the same time, opens out to its surroun­dings: large windows on the ground floor provide the passer-by with an exten­sive view of the acti­vity within the rooms, the fully glazed upstairs recep­tion areas over­look the neigh­bor­hood.

The general buil­ding volume is composed of hori­zontal layers — alter­na­ting white concrete facing block and full-height glazed openings — which contri­bute to the unified project.

Project data

Architect

Enia Archi­tectes
46 rue de Lagny 93
F — 100 Montreuil

Client

Ville de Cour­be­voie

Physical address

Gymnase Georges Pompidou
11 Rue Fica­tier 9
F — 92400 Cour­be­voie

Opening

2018

Photograph

Jérôme Epail­lard & Teresa Machado

Author

Enia Archi­tectes

Plans

Video

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Centro Deportivo Las Eras

Centro Deportivo Las Eras

Kissed awake

How a large but simple sports hall became a sports centre.

The Centro Deportivo Las Eras was transformed from a mono-functional facility of the 1980s into a more than versatile sports centre of our time.

The new exten­sion is directly linked to its natural envi­ron­ment. The old facade evolves gene­ra­ting a second faceted skin that protects and charac­te­rizes the project.

The result is a frag­mented volume that gene­rates a new public space with its move­ment and revamps the old sports center’s image.

A trian­gu­lated geometry which mirrors its inner pearl towards the outside: a clim­bing wall for the town resi­dents, intrin­si­cally linked to the moun­tains.

The new facilities scheme is organized among two elements: “The Box” and “The stairs”.

“The box” is s a free­stan­ding volume with an indus­trial character divided in two diffe­rent levels and finished with oriented strand boards.

The ground floor­plan includes chan­ging rooms and two multi­pur­pose rooms; a 90sqm one and a bigger one, around 130sqm and over 12 meters long with fencing faci­li­ties.

The first floor consists of a 100sqm spin­ning room and a GYM with over 300sqm. There is also a cafe­teria, directly linked to the new urban outdoor space.

The main stair­case serves as a connec­tion between the old pavi­lion and the new exten­sion.

It’s atta­ched to the solid concrete wall of the old fronton court.  Some openings have been placed stra­te­gi­cally to act as “inte­rior windows”, allo­wing for a direct visual connec­tion between the new and the old thus, uniting the whole volume.

Under these stairs there is a large storage area which turns into new tiers towards the inte­rior of the pavi­lion.

The climbing wall: a mountain symbol

Semi-buried and peeking towards the end of the corridor is the clim­bing wall. Desi­gned toge­ther with local clim­bers, it takes advan­tage of the old pavi­lion, using it as its main clim­bing support. The space loses height towards the boulder, thanks to a series of trian­gular tensioned trusses until it reaches its original human scale.

The project has been thought of taking into account its imme­diate urban surroun­dings too: its access and commu­ni­ca­tions. A new main access for the entire complex has been created, located in a slightly elevated square which is accessed through a comple­tely reno­vated prome­nade.

This square will work as a new meeting point for both athletes and citi­zens.

The main entrance becomes a bright, large double-height space, always lit up thanks to the main façade and the elon­gated skylight.

The mesh: a connecting element

The new program is protected and wrapped within a micro-perfo­rated skin that emerges from the exis­ting metal facade and evolves adap­ting itself to the geome­tries and inten­tions of the new project.

It’s a new shell that gives cohe­sion and unity to the entire complex. It acts both as a light filter towards the south and as a protec­tive shell, resistant to possible external impacts.

The chosen see-through mate­rial creates a trans­pa­rent volume where you can “see without being seen” from the inside; a living façade that dema­te­ria­lizes depen­ding on the time of the day.

Project data

Architect

Enkiro

Client

Hoyo de Manz­anares, Madrid

Physical address

Poli­de­por­tivo Muni­cipal Las Eras
C. de las Eras, s/n
28240 Hoyo de Manz­anares
ESP — Madrid

Opening

2021

Photograph

IMAGEN SUBLIMINAL
Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero

Author

Enkiro

Plans

© IMAGEN SUBLIMINAL

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The Ring Umag

The Ring Umag

Come as you are

A sports centre with an enormous atmosphere.

The project consisted of the reconstruction of the existing, neglected, playground area next to the elementary school in Umag.

This year, in Umag, the project for the sports field next to the Elemen­tary School of „Marija i Lina“ was completed in Umag, which turned the previously abban­doned and unused school sport field into a gathe­ring place for citi­zens, athletes and children.

The play­ground was desi­gned by archi­tect Nenad Marić, and the investor was the Muni­ci­pa­lity of Umag. The project consisted of the recon­s­truc­tion of the exis­ting, negle­cted, play­ground area next to the elemen­tary school in Umag.

The project task included the recon­s­truc­tion of the play­ground space and the trans­for­ma­tion of the surroun­ding envi­ron­ment.

The new “schoolyard” now belongs to the pupils in the mornings, but is open to the general public during non-school hours.

The context is defined by a wide regional road with round­abouts, a school’s sports hall and a spacious green area, while the exis­ting condi­tion of the play­ground consisted of three basic elements: field — sports field area, track — surroun­ding the field and embank­ment — around the track.

The school play­ground is a space intended for children, school­children, but also a space that did not have its users in the hours when classes are not taking place.

Apart from the fact that the demand for a desi­gned outdoor sports faci­li­ties is growing every day (which was espe­ci­ally evident during the period of rest­ric­tions related to the pandemic), we were guided by the idea that space affects people’s habits and that well-desi­gned space can gene­rate new acti­vi­ties of socia­li­zing and meeting.

With the idea of ​​involving citizens, a school playground was designed that should be open and adapted to everyone.

The design of the space was approa­ched with the aim of elimi­na­ting visual and spatial barriers to the context, school and gree­nery, and with the inten­tion of opening play­grounds to the city, while paying atten­tion to stan­dards, methods and prin­ci­ples of desig­ning sports faci­li­ties.

By placing circular elements, with contents for rest and socia­li­zing, all three elements (path, field and embank­ment) are connected. In the circular elements, sports stands, benches for socia­li­zing and elements for athletes’ rest are formed.

So, in addi­tion to the “orange circles” connec­ting the play­ground with the context and repre­sen­ting new entrances to the play­ground across the embank­ment, the circles also become places which open views towards the play­ground and all sports faci­li­ties.

In this way, the play­ground opens and connects with the city and becomes a place for socia­li­zing and gathe­ring of citi­zens, athletes and children.

Nenad Marić has turned a neglected schoolyard into an extremely colourful and communicative sports centre.

The program consists of two basket­ball courts, one hand­ball and one futsal court, outdoor gym, long-distance jumping area, table tennis space and volley­ball courts. Follo­wing the criteria of sports plan­ning and program-defined contents, sport fields are laid in a north-south direc­tion, in order to ensure equal condi­tions for ever­yone to play sports.

Hori­zontal graphics, carpet struc­tures, are also used as an element of defi­ning the space, crea­ting a system of inter­spaces for indi­vi­dual sports.

In addi­tion to gene­ra­ting a pulsa­ting public space and sports revi­ta­liza­tion of the wider city center, the project also creates all the prere­qui­sites for profes­sional and recrea­tional sports.

Project data

Architect

Marić Arhi­tek­tura i Urba­nizam
Šeta­lište Vladi­mira Gortana 38
HR — 52470 Umag

Client

Commu­nity of Umag

Physical address

Marija i Lina
Školska ul. 14, 52470
HR — Umag

Opening

2022

Author

Nenad Marić

Photograph

Marić Arhi­tek­tura i Urba­nizam

Video

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Gigantium Urban Space

Gigantium Urban Space in Aalborg

Bus stop

An extremely activating design for a former loading area between two large sports halls.

Gigantium Urban Space vitalises a former loading zone between two large sports halls in Aalborg’s largest sports and cultural centre.

The Gigan­tium is Aalborg’s largest sports and cultural centre. It houses several large event halls, an ice rink, a swim­ming hall and an athle­tics hall — all with several thousand spec­tator seats.

Between these large buil­dings there are usually not very attrac­tive loading zones and traffic areas.

Assi­gned to trans­form a former loading area into a new plaza, our vision has been to create an urban space where sports and cultural life inside Gigan­tium – Aalborg’s biggest sports- and culture center – are carried further out to the outdoor space. Shades of red and white playful streaks lead people from the street into the square and give iden­tity to the concrete elements.

Gigantium Urban Space is a bus stop, an attractive place to stay and a meeting place.

Located in front of a green field with grazing sheep and a local bicycle route, the new red plaza makes a great contrast to the surroun­ding area.

The red carpet guides visi­tors to the urban plaza, invi­ting them to stop by, hang out, or play. Many shapes of rouge divide the fore­court into diffe­rent sections along with playful white lines.

When follo­wing the lines, people are met by diffe­rent rails, plateaus, steps, graphics, and gree­nery invi­ting them to sports, games, and accom­mo­da­tion. The diffe­rent expres­sions are all tied toge­ther, crea­ting an exci­ting entrance that estab­lish Gigan­tium as a place for sports and enter­tain­ment.

The extremely activating design and the playful circles, stripes and letters  encourage creative play.

Desi­gned for diffe­rent types of crea­tive games, the dynamic graphics created by Danish design studio Rama Studio gives life to the concrete space. Sket­ched with a simple white line, the circles, stripes, letters, and smileys all serve as trai­ning elements, wayfin­ding, and vibrant deco­ra­tions.

The graphics cover the diffe­rent pave­ments and facades ending in three-dimen­sional shapes to form the fitness bars and rails and the plateau land­scape.

The new urban space is a part of the new ‘Plusbus’ program in Aalborg Muni­ci­pa­lity, a new, envi­ron­men­tally friendly bus connec­tion that creates greater cohe­rence between trans­port and urban deve­lo­p­ment. A part of the assign­ment was to empha­size Gigan­tium as a ‘PlusBus’ stop desti­na­tion by crea­ting an exci­ting stop that invites passen­gers to the sports center.

Plusbus is a BRT – Bus Rapid Transit – which is a high-class bus connec­tion.

Project data

Design

JAJA Archi­tects ApS
Heim­dals­gade 35
baghuset, 3 sal
DK — 2200 Copen­hagen N

Grafik

Rama Studio
Kigkurren 8G, 3. tv.
DK — 2300 Køben­havn S

Physical address

Gigan­tium
Willy Brandts Vej 31
Dk — 9220 Aalborg

Opening

2021

Author

JAJA Archi­tects

Photos

Rasmus Hjortshøj/Coast Studio

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National Sports Centre in Magglingen

Indoor running track at the National Sports Centre in Magglingen

Run to you

The running track – spanning approximately 1,000 m² – can be dismantled into 230 portable elements, which can then be assembled and taken down again with ease.

The small village of Magglingen in the canton of Bern is, in practice, the training camp for Swiss top-class sport, including the National Sports Centre in Magglingen (NSM).

The National Sports Centre in Magg­lingen, a faci­lity of the Swiss Federal Office of Sport, offers trai­ning faci­li­ties for almost every sport, all under compe­ti­tion condi­tions at the very highest level. Among them is a mobile indoor running track that can be set up and taken down as needed. This has now been renewed.

CONIPUR SW was chosen for the floo­ring because, on the one hand, it meets the requi­re­ments of the World Athle­tics and Swiss Athle­tics, and on the other hand it is very light.

The Swiss Federal Insti­tute of Sport in Magg­lingen (EHSM) is the only Swiss higher educa­tion faci­lity exclu­si­vely dedi­cated to teaching, rese­arch, deve­lo­p­ment and services within the disci­pline of sport. It is part of the Swiss Federal Office of Sport (BASPO), which is also based in Magg­lingen.

The small village in the canton of Bern is, in prac­tice, the trai­ning camp for Swiss top-class sport. In this capa­city, it boasts in excess of 80,000 over­night stays annu­ally. For its nume­rous guests, the univer­sity runs the National Sports Centre in Magg­lingen (NSM).

Running tracks

Conica AG
Indus­trie­strasse 26
CH — 8207 Schaff­hausen

Client

Swiss Federal Insti­tute of Sport in Magg­lingen (EHSM)

To allow runners to train in bad weather, there is an indoor running track in a hall that can be set up and taken down as required.

Under the motto “Sporting and mental excel­lence in an inspi­ring envi­ron­ment”, athletes can take advan­tage of the offers of support from sports science thanks to the services available from the EHSM, as well as optimal trai­ning faci­li­ties at one and the same loca­tion. Indoor and outdoor sports venues, as well as seminar rooms, accom­mo­da­tion and cate­ring faci­li­ties are available for this purpose.

The NSM aims to offer the right equip­ment for prac­ti­cally every type of compe­ti­tive sport. In addi­tion to exten­sive outdoor faci­li­ties, it has a five-court hall, two three-court halls, three single court halls inclu­ding a fitness and weights room, and a fencing and squash hall.

Whether for volley­ball, clim­bing or dancing, the halls offer the right envi­ron­ment for almost every sport. To allow runners to train in bad weather, there is an indoor running track in a hall that can be set up and taken down as required.

This was to be comple­tely renewed. The new design should, of course, continue to meet all the demands of compe­ti­tive sport, i.e. a high-quality surface and bend eleva­tions of around one metre. The floo­ring must ther­e­fore, on the one hand, meet the requi­re­ments of World Athle­tics and Swiss Athle­tics and, on the other, weigh as little as possible – an ideal appli­ca­tion for CONIPUR SW.

The 13 mm-thick poly­ure­thane running track system with a PUR-bonded elastic layer compri­sing recy­cled rubber granules incor­po­rates both high quality and dura­bi­lity due to its 3 mm PUR top layer and is a great alter­na­tive to all-plastic floo­ring options. CONIPUR SW is easy on the joints and slip-resistant.

For use in the hall, the impact-sound insu­la­tion is also an advan­tage.

Besides its tech­nical proper­ties, the CONI­CA/­CO­NIPUR-Indoor Running Track was also able to host a convin­cing perfor­mance for the Federal Office when used in Prague. The contract for the instal­la­tion was awarded to Walo Bert­schinger AG from Gümligen, which had only just been named one of the “Best Employers in 2020” in Switz­er­land in February 2020.

Physical address

Eidge­nös­si­sche Hoch­schule für Sport Magg­lingen
Haupt­strasse 247
CH — 2532 Magg­lingen

Opening

2022

The running track – spanning approximately 1,000 m² – can be dismantled into 230 portable elements, which can then be assembled and taken down again with ease.

The sand­wich struc­ture proved bene­fi­cial for produc­tion. Since only a short time frame was available for the instal­la­tion at the NSM, the base­layer of the SW system was atta­ched to the wooden elements at the manu­fac­turer. The indi­vi­dual elements were then trans­ported to Magg­lingen, assem­bled on-site and coated with CONIPUR 210 blue.

The finished running track was finally sealed with CONIPUR 2200, which soli­di­fies the granu­lated surface of the floo­ring and also faci­li­tates clea­ning.

After the coating was finally cured, cutting could then begin at the joints between the indi­vi­dual elements. Coating the bends, in parti­cular, required a great deal of exper­tise, as these were set at compe­ti­tion level during proces­sing and had a corre­spon­dingly steep gradient. If this is not done carefully, the mate­rial can flow off.

However, the plan­ning proved to be successful. The running track – span­ning appro­xi­m­ately 1,000 m² – can be dismantled into 230 portable elements, which can then be assem­bled and taken down again with ease.

With it, the NSM can now offer optimal trai­ning options for indoor running under compe­ti­tive condi­tions.

Photos

Conica AG

Text

Julian Fernando Nadel
Conica AG
(Adver­to­rial)

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Quzhou Stadium

The Quzhou Stadium 

Where does the landscape end?

The Quzhou stadium breaks away from conventional sports architecture — through its reference to the surrounding landscape. And through beauty.

Visitors here can decide where the landscape ends and the building begins.

Completed by MAD Archi­tects in the summer of 2022, Quzhou Stadium is the centre­piece of the almost seven-hectare Quzhou Sports Park in Zhejiang Province. Quzhou is a histo­rical city 400 km southwest of Shanghai.

We already presented the entire project in draft form in 2018.

Despite its considerable capa­city of 30,000 seats, the Quzhou Stadium blends in breath­ta­kingly with the surroun­ding land­scape – and opens up to the surroun­ding public space from almost every angle.

Visi­tors can decide for them­selves where the land­scape ends and the buil­ding begins. Behind each eleva­tion is a buil­ding which fits seam­lessly into its surroun­dings. The various hills and knolls are all man-made struc­tures which include trai­ning grounds, a sports hall, a swim­ming pool and a science and tech­no­logy museum.

The half-buried stadium is crowned by a white, crown-shaped roof struc­ture with a diameter of 250 m, which the Serge Ferrari Group covered with two layers of PTFE membranes.

With the translucent membrane material, the complex geometry of the widely stretched supporting structure can also easily be accomplished literally.

The roofs all have complex, double-curved surfaces. The canopy is supported by only nine drop points with a maximum span of 95 meters, so that the buil­ding “hovers” over the land­scape and offers framed perspec­tives of the city from multiple angles.

The 60 concrete columns supporting the stadium are made of exposed concrete slabs with wood grain. Despite the size of the shapes and mate­rials, this creates a feeling of warmth and texture.

The roof is made from steel, onto which a trans­lu­cent, light-emit­ting membrane mate­rial was wound. So the complex geometry of the widely stret­ched supporting struc­ture can also easily be accom­plished lite­rally.

The trans­lu­cent PTFE membrane made from synthetic polymer not only takes the weight off the monu­mental steel struc­ture, it also improves the acou­stics throug­hout the stadium. The upper surface of the canopy is made from a firmer PTFE membrane from Serge Ferrari Group, which prevents rain­water coming through.

The under­side of the struc­ture has been equipped with more than 40,800 m² of PTFE coated glass mesh fabric, also from Serge Ferrari Group, a PTFE membrane with fire resis­tance class A, which meets the stric­test fire safety stan­dards.

In addi­tion to its tech­nical quali­ties, this struc­ture also gives the project an enormous aesthetic appeal. The result is remi­nis­cent of a field of clouds gliding gently over the hills.

The mean­de­ring geometry conti­nues inside the stadium. The seats are arranged in waves and are in rela­tion to the surroun­ding land­scape, which is enhanced by the green tones of the bucket seats – and forms a beau­tiful contrast to the white roof struc­ture.

At the Quzhou Stadium, the pursuit of sustainability is also striking in terms of design.

Quzhou Stadium was desi­gned with some eye-catching aspects of sustaina­bi­lity in mind.

Large openings into the land­scape ensure that natural light can come into the parking garage and the entrance levels of the stadium. The entire stadium is desi­gned to absorb, store and seep rain­water. This also protects the buil­ding from exces­sive rain damage and leads to lower tempe­ra­ture fluc­tua­tions and lower energy consump­tion.

Apart from the spec­tator seats and the playing field, almost all the faci­li­ties are located under the surface of the earth.

In addi­tion, all the concrete mate­rials used on the cons­truc­tion site were produced on site, so the CO2 foot­print asso­ciated with the mate­rial trans­port was mini­mised during the entire cons­truc­tion process.

The Quzhou Stadium and the entire Quzhou Sports Park are moving away from conventional sports architecture.

The opening of the Quzhou Stadium marks the end of the first of two cons­truc­tion phases of the Quzhou Sports Park. Next, there will be a sports hall with 10,000 seats, a swim­ming pool (2,000 seats), a science and tech­no­logy museum, hotels, a youth centre and retail outlets.

The combi­na­tion of nature and archi­tec­ture, from the digging of large parts of the buil­ding to the roof membranes of Serge Ferrari, create a unique urban land­scape.

The Quzhou Stadium and the entire Quzhou Sports Park are moving away from conven­tional sports archi­tec­ture. Despite all the size and filigree character of the struc­tures and mate­rials, it is the refe­rence to the surroun­ding land­scape and the subtle inner beauty of the stadium which make it so excep­tional.

In the best possible sense.

Project data

Architect

MAD Archi­tects

Client

Quzhou West District Deve­lo­p­ment Committee
Quzhou Baoye Sports Cons­truc­tion and Opera­tion Co., Ltd

Dachmembran

Serge Ferrari Group
Auf der Kaiser­bitz 3
D — 51147 Köln

Physical address

2 Tiyuchang Rd
Kecheng District
Quzhou, Zhejiang,
China, 324003

Opening

2022

Photos

CreatAR Images ©MAD Archi­tect
Arch Exist ©MAD Archi­tectss
Aogvi­sion ©MAD Archi­tects

Author

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
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La Terenuri

La Terenuri

Transylvanian diversity

An exceptionally versatile sports facility, built with high quality and durable materials.

Since its opening in July 2022, “La Terenuri” has offered people of all ages free access to sports and leisure activities of all kinds.

On July 2022, The spacious La Terenuri sports faci­lity was opened In Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second largest city. CONICA systems have been installed on appro­xi­m­ately 6,600 m² of its outdoor area.

The spacious La Terenuri sports faci­lity was opened In Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second largest city. CONICA systems have been installed on appro­xi­m­ately 6,600 m² of its outdoor area. Since its opening in July, it has offered people of all age groups free access to sports and leisure acti­vi­ties of all kinds. The multi­func­tional indoor areas and above all the spacious outdoor faci­li­ties are the main attrac­tion of the 4.2 hectare site. They include both tradi­tional sports fields, courses with fitness equip­ment and play­grounds.

Outside Romania the name Tran­syl­vania still trig­gers asso­cia­tions with vampire novels and barely popu­lated forest regions. The contrast with reality in the 21st century could hardly be greater. Cluj-Napoca, the unof­fi­cial capital of the region, is set in char­ming land­scape. Its roots go back to the 13th century.

Today, trilin­gual univer­si­ties and nume­rous cultural offe­rings shape the lives of its 325,000 inha­bi­tants. Popular sports are natu­rally also a part of the way of life in this urban envi­ron­ment. Conside­ring that fact the La Terenuri sports faci­lity, an invest­ment of over 6 million euros, was recently cons­tructed in the Mănăștur district. Since its opening in July, it has offered people of all age groups free access to sports and leisure acti­vi­ties of all kinds.

The multi­func­tional indoor areas and above all the spacious outdoor faci­li­ties are the main attrac­tion of the 4.2 hectare site. They include both tradi­tional sports fields, courses with fitness equip­ment and play­grounds.

A particular challenge was the diverse and varied colour scheme, which included very special mixtures and shades.

The biggest chall­enge when concei­ving the faci­li­ties was getting the design and func­tion­a­lity right. Since they are freely acces­sible, their use cannot be regu­lated or controlled. Rules such as “Enter in sports shoes only” or other house rules cannot be imposed nor moni­tored. Nevert­heless, the aim was to avoid any rest­ric­tions on the design.

Instead, the plans of archi­tec­tural firm Arhi BOX envi­saged a sophisti­cated, inno­va­tive design that would attract visi­tors of all ages, from young children taking their first steps on the play­ground to ambi­tious young amateur athletes, to retired peoples wanting to main­tain their mobi­lity.

One parti­cular chall­enge was the colour scheme, which called for very specific mixtures and shades. For this reason, the contractor, the Indfloor Group, used floor cove­rings from CONICA.

They were installed on sports areas of all kinds: tennis courts, basket­ball and volley­ball courts, a badminton court, a running track, fitness trails and a play­ground. A total of 6,600 m² of high-end floo­ring was laid.

In detail, the follo­wing systems were used:

  • Base 35 mm in combi­na­tion with CONIPUR EPDM 8 mm
  • ET Soccer 30 mm in combi­na­tion with CONIPUR EPDM 8 mm
  • CONIPUR PG 4 cm

Local residents enjoy a sports facility that will retain its function and exceptional aesthetics for many years due to the high-quality materials used.

The desi­gners were given full crea­tive freedom, as CONICA was able to provide these cove­rings in any RAL colour shades and mixtures. They gave the faci­lity a very unique appearance that clearly stands out from stan­dard “off-the-peg” solu­tions.

Thanks to the many design possi­bi­li­ties, La Terenuri has become a refe­rence project for Arhi BOX and the Indfloor Group and is highly valued for its visual appeal.

Local resi­dents can enjoy a sports faci­lity that will perform its func­tion and main­tain its extra­or­di­nary aesthetic appearance for many years to come due to the high-quality of mate­rials used.

Namely “From dusk til dawn”.

Project data

Client

Primăria și consi­liul local Cluj-Napoca

Sports surfaces

Conica AG
Indus­trie­strasse 26
CH — 8207 Schaff­hausen

Physical address

La Terenuri
str. Parâng
nr. FN,
ROU — Cluj-Napoca

Opening

2022

Photograph

Conica
Primăria și consi­liul local Cluj-Napoca

Author

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
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blueSmart in Salzburg

blueSmart in Salzburg

Fits

What do Mirabell Palace, the Volksgarten ice arena, the Liefering sports centre and the historic Volksgarten swimming pool have in common?

The electronic access organisation blueSmart secures the government headquarters as well as municipal properties and sports facilities.

Salz­burg is always worth a trip: The romantic old town invites people to wander around, offers a wealth of historic sights and world-famous festi­vals welcome visi­tors with an inte­rest in culture.

Other attrac­tive desti­na­tions include Salzburg’s sports faci­li­ties such as the Volks­garten ice arena, the Liefe­ring sports centre and the historic Volks­garten swim­ming pool.

The city’s magis­trate is based in the baroque UNESCO World Heri­tage Site Mira­bell Palace. Visually spea­king, time seems to have stood still in the birth­place of Mozart. However, if you look closely, you will discover the latest tech­no­logy from Wink­haus.

blueSmart elec­tronic access control systems secure the govern­ment head­quar­ters as well as muni­cipal proper­ties and sports faci­li­ties – inclu­ding the popular Volks­garten ice arena, the Liefe­ring sports centre and the historic Volks­garten swim­ming pool.

Well over 1,000 elec­tronic door cylin­ders in total and many other smart system compon­ents such as upload readers and ETB-IM elec­tronic door handles ensure controlled access in the state capital.

There are a number of reasons why blueSmart is so popular in the Mozart city. A key factor is the compact shape of the door cylin­ders, as they also fit into historic doors and subtly blend into the aesthe­tics of the surroun­dings.

blueSmart also offers high flexi­bi­lity and relia­bi­lity, which the decision-makers were impressed with right from the start. Wink­haus buil­ding manage­ment tech­no­logy has been in use for many years and the reliable service provided by Wink­haus’ compe­tent tech­ni­cians from Grödig, the head­quar­ters of Wink­haus Austria, is highly appre­ciated. This is a good reason to gradu­ally expand the exis­ting system and incor­po­rate new func­tions.

Around 400 electronic keys are used in the Mirabell Palace to unlock the electronically secured doors. Around 300 employees and political party members come in and out of the buildings.

The baroque Mira­bell Palace complex is one of the city’s most popular tourist attrac­tions, while also fulfil­ling its role as a state-of-the-art admi­nis­tra­tive and govern­ment base. The ground floor of the buil­ding houses the depart­ments with high levels of public traffic, such as the pass­port office or the city treasury. As these are sensi­tive areas that must be easily acces­sible to citi­zens on the one hand, but also effec­tively protected against unwanted access on the other, safety and secu­rity pose a parti­cular chall­enge here. 

 

In order to resolve the appa­rent contra­dic­tion between secure locking and citizen-orien­tated service and to save costs in the process, the decision was made in 2006 to imple­ment an elec­tronic blue­Chip locking system from Wink­haus. Since then, this system has secured the outer skin and was already compa­tible with the exis­ting alarm system back then.

Today, the blueSmart system, the next gene­ra­tion of Wink­haus elec­tronic access control systems, is used. It is also compa­tible with exis­ting secu­rity systems.

With their unob­tru­sive design, the flush-mounted elec­tronic blueSmart door cylin­ders do not inter­fere with the appearance of the historic doors in the Mira­bell Palace. No wiring is required, because the battery-operated cylin­ders work off-line. They are also cold-resistant and low-main­ten­ance: The batte­ries have a service life of up to 10 years, depen­ding on the type. There is no need to oil the cylin­ders, as is the case with mecha­nical locking systems, as the tip of the elec­tronic key is made of plastic and does not cause metal abra­sion on the contact surfaces.

Since access control has been reliable from the very begin­ning, nume­rous expan­sions have been added over the years. More than 430 cylin­ders now secure the palace complex.

Around four hundred elec­tronic keys are used in the Mira­bell Palace to unlock the elec­tro­ni­cally secured doors. Around three hundred employees, the mayor, the local coun­cil­lors and poli­tical party members come in and out of the buil­dings. The premises are also used by external orga­ni­sa­tions and the church, for example.

Only a flexible locking system is able to reliably manage access for so many diffe­rent groups. Wink­haus blueSmart supports users with a variable colour concept: The elec­tronic keys have diffe­rent colours that enable precise assign­ment to the indi­vi­dual user groups. Employee keys also contain an addi­tional trans­ponder for time recor­ding.

All keys feature an espe­ci­ally sturdy plastic casing that is water­proof (IP 68) and resistant to hand disin­fec­tants, is easy to clean and easy to grip.

They are simple to use, with a system based on the usual locking beha­viour: The key is simply inserted and turned. The authen­ti­ca­tion check takes place in the back­ground and unno­ticed by the user.

The manage­ment soft­ware for the elec­tronic locking system in the palace runs on a central server. Five clients are set up in the system, so that those respon­sible on site – such as in the swim­ming pool or sports hall – can also work with it without having to go through the town hall.

A process that involves signi­fi­cant effort with a mecha­nical locking system, can be completed with just a few mouse clicks with the elec­tronic solu­tion: If a lost key is reported, the autho­ri­sa­tion can be with­drawn from this key without delay. Chan­ging locking autho­ri­sa­tions are managed just as easily. The Wink­haus blue­Con­trol Profes­sional soft­ware provides user-friendly support. And when the programme requires an update or main­ten­ance, Wink­haus provides quick and expert support.

Employees in charge of the locking system can ther­e­fore manage any relo­ca­tions within the admi­nis­tra­tive offices with minimal stress.

Access to sports in Salzburg is similarly well organised as access to Mirabell Palace. This is especially true for the Volksgarten outdoor pool, the Red Bull ice arena and the Liefering sports centre.

The sports faci­li­ties in the Mozart city are much younger than the palace. The Volks­garten swim­ming pool dates back to the late 19th century, the Red Bull ice arena was built in the 1960s, while the Liefe­ring sports centre was built just a few years ago.

The outdoor pool, which Salz­burg locals affec­tion­a­tely call “Volksi”, has grown over the decades and was also fitted with an elec­tronic locking system in 2020. An upload reader and thirty blueSmart door cylin­ders secure the outdoor and indoor areas.

Salzburg’s ice rink is located in the imme­diate vici­nity. It offers space for 3,400 spec­ta­tors and was converted into a multi-func­tional arena at the start of the mill­en­nium. Profes­sio­nals and amateurs of all ages from various clubs train here.

The requi­re­ments for access manage­ment are ther­e­fore high. The two ice rinks, one of which is outdoors, offer a wide range of ice sports acti­vi­ties: in addi­tion to public and forma­tion ice skating, these include ice hockey, figure skating, curling and short track.

Trade fairs, concerts, musi­cals and exhi­bi­tions are also held here in the summer months from April to September.

Access is controlled by almost 300 elec­tronic door cylin­ders, which mini­mise the risk of injury from crushed fingers and offer little surface for acci­dental or inten­tional damage, as well as three blueSmart upload readers. 

In the admi­nis­tra­tion area, the doors are equipped with elec­tronic door handles (ETB-IM). In addi­tion to the elec­tronic blueSmart keys, employees also use trans­pon­ders to unlock doors without touching them.

In 2016, a sports hall was built as a posi­tive energy buil­ding for the first time in Austria in the form of the Liefe­ring sports centre. It meets the Smart City stan­dards and has been awarded the CLIMATE ACTIVE GOLD STANDARD.

The buil­ding gene­rates more energy than it needs itself. Its three-field sports hall offers space for nume­rous sports and is also geared towards disabled sports. A move­ment room and office space for the clubs complete the range of faci­li­ties. 

The smart tech­no­logy of the buil­ding, which includes a blueSmart locking system, fades into the back­ground. 120 door cylin­ders and three upload readers safe­guard the indoor area and the outdoor faci­li­ties. blueSmart also effec­tively controls flood­light systems and other appli­ca­tions.

Project data

Access organisation

Aug. Wink­haus GmbH & Co. KG  
Hessenweg 9 
D‑48157 Münster

Photos

Wink­haus
Pexels

Author

Irena Byrdy-Furman­czyk
Wink­haus

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Sports and Culture Campus Gellerup

Sports and Culture Campus Gellerup

Rich in variety

Sports and Culture Campus Gellerup is the new heart of the district.

In Gellerup, parks, housing, 1,000 jobs — and the Sports and Cultural Campus Gellerup — have been built in the last ten years.

The Aarhus suburb of Gellerup has drama­ti­cally changed in the past ten years. The neigh­bour­hood has been totally trans­formed, several large blocks of flats have been demo­lished, and in their place a new and undu­la­ting urban park has been created, toge­ther with student accom­mo­da­tion, entre­pre­neu­rial envi­ron­ments and a muni­cipal power­house – Blixens – with 1,000 employees.

Sports and Culture Campus Gellerup is the new heart of the district.

A new library and a new commu­nity centre are located on Karen Blixens Boule­vard, and linked to a new purpose-built acti­vity centre. The vibe is clearly inter­na­tional, and the scale both impres­sive and enga­ging.

To provide the best acoustics in all configurations, the large communal space was equipped with Troldtekt acoustic panels in natural grey.

Sports and Culture Campus Gellerup comprises three very distinct buil­dings situated around a central square. The library and commu­nity centre has wooden facades, and is a very open and invi­ting buil­ding with strong ties to its surroun­dings.

Walking past, you can see what is happe­ning inside, which is a very good idea when you want to encou­rage new people to parti­ci­pate in the nume­rous acti­vi­ties.

Schon von außen ist erkennbar, was im Gebäude vor sich geht. Das animiert die Menschen, an den vielen Akti­vi­täten im Inneren teil­zu­nehmen.

The large communal space is a multi-purpose room featuring Trold­tekt acou­stic panels in natural grey – on both the walls and ceilings.

In a community as diverse as Gellerup, it is important that the new campus is a democratic place which is encouraging everyone to interact with other people.

The acti­vity centre to the south comes across as being more intro­verted, with large, smooth alumi­nium facades. However, through indi­vi­du­ally posi­tioned window sections it is possible to glimpse the enormous clim­bing walls, the main attrac­tion for Aarhus Clim­bing Club.
The buil­ding also houses attrac­tive trai­ning faci­li­ties for Circus Tværs, where children and young people can walk in off the street and learn advanced acro­ba­tics. To the east are the games pitches, the urban park and the swim­ming pool.
In the acti­vity centre, Trold­tekt acou­stic panels in blue, red and grey have been installed to give the room a sense of iden­tity while softening the concrete walls. In the foyer, black acou­stic panels have been installed on the ceiling, which go well with the trans­verse concrete beams and the artistic floor.

Project data

Client

Stadt Aarhus / Brab­rand Bolig­fo­rening

Acoustic panels

Trold­tekt GmbH
Frie­senweg 4 · Haus 12
D — 22763 Hamburg

Physical address

Sports- og Kultur­campus
Karen Blixens Blvd. 23 — 27
DK — 8220 Brab­rand

Opening

2021

Author

Thomas Mølvig, Archi­tekt
(Adver­to­rial)

Photograph

Thomas Mølvig, Archi­tekt.

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Aarhus International Sailing Centre

Aarhus International Sailing Centre

Unsentimental

It’s hard to imagine a more attractive location for a building dedicated to sailing.

The sailing centre connects a new part of the city with the water via a waterfront promenade.

In 2018, the Danish Crown Prince Frederik inau­gu­rated the new Aarhus Inter­na­tional Sailing Centre on the city’s water­front. The large pale grey concrete buil­ding is located right at the entrance to the marina and the harbour for wooden boats in Aarhus.

The new sailing centre was desi­gned by Entasis.

The new buil­ding is connected to Aarhus Ø, a new resi­den­tial district, via a water­side prome­nade. Located between the city, the harbour and the woods, it is a buil­ding with a uniquely raw design.

The construction of the Aarhus International Sailing Centre is its architecture as well.

From the outside, the sailing centre resem­bles an indus­trial hall with huge sliding doors and visible struc­tural elements.

A comple­tely tectonic design. The struc­tures are the archi­tec­ture, yet there is one feature that makes the buil­ding stand out from many indus­trial faci­li­ties – the high degree of trans­pa­rency.

Light floods into the buil­ding from all corners of the compass. The large glass sections are divided by hori­zontal bars that huma­nise the scale of the vast buil­ding.

Troldtekt acoustic panels go incredibly well with the raw concrete.

The same unsen­ti­mental design charac­te­rises the inside of the buil­ding, and the high-ceilinged hall accom­mo­dates large numbers of ding­hies, which can easily be wheeled in and out fully rigged.

The admi­nis­tra­tion depart­ment with offices, confe­rence rooms and club faci­li­ties is situated to the south, while the first floor has a lounge with views of the bay. The south facade also features a large outdoor balcony, which is raised above the main entrance.

Trold­tekt acou­stic panels were an obvious choice for the exclu­sive fitting-out, and the panels go incre­dibly well with the raw concrete.

Project data

Architect

Entasis
Århus­gade 102
DK — 2100 Kopen­hagen

Client

Fonden Aarhus Inter­na­tio­nales Segel­zen­trum

Acoustic ceiling

Trold­tekt GmbH
Frie­senweg 4 · Haus 12
D — 22763 Hamburg

Physical address

Aarhus Inter­na­tional Sailing Centre
Esther Aggebos Gade 80A
DK — 8000 Aarhus

Opening

2018

Author

Thomas Mølvig, Archi­tekt
(Adver­to­rial)

Photograph

Thomas Mølvig, Archi­tekt.
Helene Høyer Mikkelsen, Archi­tekt

Plans

Video

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The Heart

The Heart in Ikast

Listen to your heart

35 different user groups in a facility that is used for very different sporting, cultural and social purposes.

Hjertet consists of a variety of open spaces, halls and rooms that can be used for a wide range of sporting, cultural and social purposes.

C.F. Møller Archi­tects desi­gned a major project next to the Inter­na­tional School Ikast-Brande with a much-awaited expan­sion with several halls, multi-func­tional and educa­tional faci­li­ties. The project called The Heart makes the educa­tional faci­li­ties at the school even better, and at the same time creates a new meeting point centred on an area of fast growth in Ikast.

’Hjertet’ (the Heart), as the project is called, includes a multi-purpose buil­ding, as well as an acti­vity park, to create a new rela­tion to the neigh­bou­ring colleges and schools.

Hjertet was desi­gned by C.F. Møller while Trold­tekt did the acou­stics.

A major aim of the project was to create a combination of many different facilities and parallel activities. A small town housed in one building.

‘The Heart’ combines educa­tion, acti­vi­ties, commu­nity, exer­cise and recrea­tional pursuits in new ways. The inter­na­tional pupils will thus be a natural part of a very wide-ranging group of users, inclu­ding sportsmen and women, musi­cians, skaters and users in a social psych­iatry project.

Overall, 35 user groups were involved in the deve­lo­p­ment of the buil­ding and park.

The aim of the Heart is to combine many diffe­rent faci­li­ties and parallel acti­vi­ties, and to use all of the rooms, all the time, all day long, so that the buil­ding is always used actively from early morning to late evening.
The project ambi­tion is expressed in an archi­tec­ture that resem­bles a small town, with varying roof heights and a square which gathers, leads and distri­butes the users.

The Hjertet Cultural and Educational Centre houses several large rooms for special uses. The acoustics were tuned by means of Troldtekt acoustic panels.

The Heart consists of several main rooms. To the west is the multi-purpose hall with a large window section over­loo­king the fore­court. The room has a gymnastics floor and mirrors along one side, and can ther­e­fore be used for gymnastics and dancing, but also for large lecture events.
The acou­stics are tail­ored to these uses with Trold­tekt acou­stic panels on the ceilings and on one wall. The lighting is beau­tifully inte­grated in the ceiling surface, unders­coring the building’s uncom­pli­cated design.
Trold­tekt acou­stic panels have also been used in the Reflec­tion room, which is smaller and more inward-looking. Here, all the walls and the ceiling are covered with wooden strips which, toge­ther with the suspended pendant lighting, creates a parti­cu­larly inti­mate atmo­sphere that is perfect for yoga and pilates, but also for more formal events.

The Heart is a very open and accessible building, which also draws attention through its use of many small, informal venues and seating areas.

In the third room, called the Street sports hall, grey Trold­tekt acou­stic panels have been used on the ceiling and at the top of the walls. Here, skaters and other street sports enthu­si­asts can prac­tise when outdoor condi­tions prevent them from doing so.

All around The Heart, C.F. Møller Land­scape has created a dynamic land­scape accom­mo­da­ting rela­xa­tion as well as many types of acti­vi­ties.

The Heart is a very open and acces­sible buil­ding, which also draws atten­tion through its use of many small, informal venues and seating areas, to rein­force the multi-building’s capa­city as a social gathe­ring point that is not just a place to spend active leisure time.
In its essence the project is a show­case in how broadly diffe­rent user groups of leisure faci­li­ties can be combined.

Such an open house with such different configurations of rooms can only work if the acoustics work as well — and they do.

The Heart gives a great boost to leisure time acti­vi­ties, local socioe­co­no­mics and teaching oppor­tu­ni­ties for the school. This also creates a strong contact between the many diffe­rent users where the young people for instance can obtain advice on important life choices to pursue active and social lives.

In this way the Heart connects every walk of life to make it easier to make the next step for each indi­vi­dual.

Such an open house with such diffe­rent confi­gu­ra­tions can only work if the acou­stics work as well. In Hjertet, archi­tec­ture and acou­stics harmo­nise both in terms of design and func­tion — to everyone’s benefit.

Project data

Architect

C.F. Møller Danmark A/S
Euro­pa­p­lads 2, 11.
DK — 8000 Aarhus C.

Client

​Inter­na­tional School Ikast-Brande
Bøgildvej 2
DK — Ikast,  7430

Acoustic panels

Trold­tekt GmbH
Frie­senweg 20, 3. OG
D — 22763 Hamburg

Physical address

Hjertet
Vestergade 65
Dk — 7430 Ikast
Däne­mark

Opening

2018

Author

C.F. Møller

Photograph

Adam Mork

Video

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