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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

’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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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