Tossols Basil

by | 19 Apr 2018 | Sports Grounds, Sports Grounds

Trees on the pitch

Tossols Basil Athletics Stadium

Tossols Basil

The area called Tossols Basil, which is desi­gnated for leisure acti­vi­ties, is located at the edge of both a city and a natural park along a river. When contem­pla­ting adding sports faci­li­ties here, the archi­tects faced a dilemma of either clea­ring large amounts of slow-growing oak trees or succum­bing to envi­ron­men­ta­lists who wanted no change at all.

The solu­tion was to site the athletic track in a forest clea­ring, previously used for culti­va­tion. Nature and sports are united and runners appear and disap­pear as they make their way around the track. The project high­lights the beauty of the land­scape and preserves the vege­ta­tion as a filter that changes with the seasons.

The seating for obser­ving the athletes is deve­loped as small terraces or embank­ments between the clea­rings, often using the natural topo­graphy. The slender lighting towers become points of refe­rence in the land­scape.

Natural surroundings

Set in natural surroun­dings, this athle­tics track enables the merits of the exis­ting land­scape to be empha­sized and the track events them­selves to be brought closer to nature.
The track is implanted in two clea­rings in the white oak wood. Conti­guous wood­land at a distance and far-off wood­land are the rela­tions estab­lished between the track and the wood, the seating being deve­loped as small terraces or as embank­ments between the clea­rings.
As well as contai­ning the func­tional faci­li­ties, its equip­ment is inter­re­lated with the walls, embank­ments and ramps that forma­lize the change in height from entrance to track; it is the great gateway directed towards the races, a filter between nature and the urban. A gateway that is an extended roof held up by two volumes, one of which is like a great open window with a glass wall which doesn’t inter­rupt the visual conti­nuity and picks up the reflec­tion of the wood that has deter­mined the entire inter­ven­tion.

Architect

RCR Arqui­tectes Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, Ramón Vilalta Marià Vayreda, 23 ES — 17800 Olot

Team

M.Tàpies, A.Sáez, M.Bordas, Brufau, Obiol, Moya. G.Rodriguez, P.Rifà

Client

C. Bisbe Guillamet

Building contractor

C. Joan Maragall

Address

Carrer Cadis, 35 17800 Olot Es — Girona, Spanien

Aerial view

Thank you, Google!

Photograph

H.Suzuki, E.Pons, M.Checinski

Author

RCR Arqui­tectos

Site plans

The beauty of steel

After comple­ting the track in 2001, other faci­li­ties have been added; a soccer field and an entrance pavi­lion with chan­ging faci­li­ties, that RCR calls the 2x1 pavi­lion. This struc­ture that acts as a gateway to the area has a thin roof supported by two volumes allo­wing multiple views through.

Once again, RCR employs only one mate­rial – Cor-Ten steel – and the struc­ture settles easily into its natural setting.

Running, nature and Pritzker

Set in natural surroun­dings, this athle­tics track enables the merits of the exis­ting land­scape to be empha­sized and the track events them­selves to be brought closer to nature.

The track is implanted in two clea­rings in the white oak wood. Conti­guous wood­land at a distance and far-off wood­land are the rela­tions estab­lished between the track and the wood, the seating being deve­loped as small terraces or as embank­ments between the clea­rings.

As well as contai­ning the func­tional faci­li­ties, its equip­ment is inter­re­lated with the walls, embank­ments and ramps that forma­lize the change in height from entrance to track; it is the great gateway directed towards the races, a filter between nature and the urban. A gateway that is an extended roof held up by two volumes, one of which is like a great open window with a glass wall which doesn’t inter­rupt the visual conti­nuity and picks up the reflec­tion of the wood that has deter­mined the entire inter­ven­tion.

Sharon Fieldhouse

by | 18 Apr 2018 | Outdoor, Outdoor, Sports Grounds, Sports Grounds

Learning by doing

Sharon Fieldhouse in Clifton Forge

Program Description

The design/buildLAB is a project-based expe­ri­en­tial lear­ning program focused on the rese­arch, deve­lo­p­ment and imple­men­ta­tion of inno­va­tive cons­truc­tion methods and archi­tec­tural designs. Students colla­bo­rate with local commu­ni­ties and industry experts to conceive and realize built works of archi­tec­ture that are both educa­tional and chari­table in nature. The aspi­ra­tions of the program are simul­ta­neously to rein­force the know­ledge and skills neces­sary to the students’ successful and meaningful prac­tice of archi­tec­ture and to support deve­lo­p­ment efforts in distressed commu­ni­ties by enri­ching the quality of their built envi­ron­ment.

By framing the oppor­tu­nity for archi­tec­ture students to make a diffe­rence in the life of a commu­nity, the design/buildLAB shows students the posi­tive impact Archi­tec­ture can make and inspires them to high profes­sional ethics.

Project Description

The Sharon Fieldhouse sits on a hillside defined by a series of terraced base­ball fields. It marks the land as a linear incision that cuts across the site and serves as a primary axis of pede­strian circu­la­tion. The buil­ding is fissured into three elements to allow the site’s circu­la­tion to weave its way in and around the occu­pied spaces. The entrance to the Fieldhouse is an arran­ge­ment of massive concrete steps, serving as a playful proces­sion and an informal gathe­ring space. Spaces within the incision are delineated by vertical steel screens that fan-out and range in density to create varying levels of inti­macy.  Mono­li­thic pivot doors heighten aware­ness as one passes from the extreme open­ness of the site into the inti­macy of the rest­rooms and conces­sion kitchen. White lami­nated glass bathes the inte­rior spaces with even natural light. Nested between the conces­sion kitchen and the rest­rooms, a shade pavi­lion slips out of line, offe­ring a cool repose over­loo­king the field. The open­ness of the screens allows breezes to pass through as well as views to the surroun­ding moun­tains. The pavi­lion space steps toward the field with a series of faceted grass seating terraces, invi­ting spec­ta­tors to sit and enjoy the game. As the incision reaches the forest, at the edge of the site, it gently dissolves into a sunken rain­water filtra­tion marsh. In the evening, points of white light emerge as a constel­la­tion on the oiled oak ceiling. In this rich natural land­scape, trans­pa­rent forms and subtle details imbue the archi­tec­ture with a peaceful presence, a magical atmo­sphere for commu­nity gathe­rings.

Architect

design/buildLAB
VA Tech School of Archi­tec­ture + Design
201 Cowgill Hall
US-Blacksburg, VA 24061

Opening

2014

Team

Students:
Landon Williams, Molly Vaughan, Mitchell August, Ryan Myers, Julia Vasquez, Xiao Fu, Ellie Burns, Forrest Bibeau, Mykayla Fernandes, Kellen McGinley, John Iaconis, Chanel Carter-Harris, Barbara Dior, Nancy Rede­nius, Tom Powers

Profes­sors:
Marie Zawis­towski, Archi­tecte DPLG, Keith Zawis­towski, AIA, NCARB, GC

Client

Clifton Forge Little League
P.O. Box 77
Clifton Forge, VA 24422

Construction costs

97.000 €

Author

Marie Zawis­towski + Keith Zawis­towski

Photograph

© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

Collaboration

The Sharon Fieldhouse­ is a chari­table under­ta­king that was desi­gned and built by 15 third year under­gra­duate Archi­tec­ture students from Virginia Tech’s design/buildLAB. After studying the town and working with the commu­nity to develop a program, all 15 students made indi­vi­dual design propo­si­tions for the project. From those, students itera­tively merged their propo­sals. In this way, all of the students contri­buted ideas to the discus­sion. It was impe­ra­tive from a pedago­gical perspec­tive that not one “scheme” was chosen. Rather, all students colla­bo­rated to develop the final design for the project.

Social Consciousness

Clifton Forge, Virginia is repre­sen­ta­tive of many previously prospe­rous American towns, strugg­ling to survive as the indus­tries, which fueled their growth, continue to abandon them. Tucked within a small valley along the Jackson River, this rural Appa­la­chian rail town faces severe urban chal­lenges. Deserted store­fronts, empty houses and decaying infra­struc­ture contri­bute to an under­lying sense of aban­don­ment. With a combined median house­hold income of ‚000 annu­ally, Clifton Forge is in need of recrea­tional and cultural faci­li­ties to expand oppor­tu­ni­ties for its own future.

The Sharon Fieldhouse­ was an all-volun­teer design and cons­truc­tion under­ta­king for a non-profit little league. It was led by 15 under­gra­duate archi­tec­ture students who orga­nized them­selves, a team of profes­sional consul­tants and a team of commu­nity volun­teers, all with the aspi­ra­tion of engen­de­ring a renewed sense of place by intro­duce vibrant civic archi­tec­ture.

From a student educa­tion perspec­tive, the project strives to rein­force the know­ledge and skills neces­sary to the successful and meaningful prac­tice of Archi­tec­ture by addres­sing issues of social conscious­ness, commu­nity leader­ship, colla­bo­ra­tion, consensus buil­ding, and envi­ron­mental sustaina­bi­lity.

From an economic deve­lo­p­ment perspec­tive, the project demons­trates the poten­tials of locally available resources. By part­ne­ring with fled­gling local indus­tries to fabri­cate rela­tively complex buil­ding compon­ents, steel shops have expanded into CNC produc­tion, truss manu­fac­tu­rers have realized that their exis­ting produc­tion lines allow for mass-custo­miza­tion and sawmills have found new markets in Appa­la­chian hard­wood mill­work.

From a commu­nity deve­lo­p­ment perspec­tive, the energy, crea­ti­vity, and commit­ment demons­trated by the students replaces despair with valor and caused people to get involved in revi­ta­li­zing their own commu­nity. Among the many bene­fits of this commu­nity-class­room is affir­ma­tion of design thin­king in place making: the educa­tion of Archi­tects about the value of the public and the educa­tion of the public about the value of Archi­tec­ture.

Site plan

Environmental Stewardship

 

The Sharon Fieldhouse project takes the posi­tion that envi­ron­mental steward­ship is neither a commo­dity nor an aesthetic; rather, it is a value under­lying all good archi­tec­ture. This posi­tion holds that the envi­ron­mental problems of our age are problems of disposa­bi­lity and over consump­tion, which will not be solved by consuming more products, regard­less of how “green” those products may claim to be.

The Sharon Fieldhouse addresses envi­ron­mental leader­ship through cultural and physi­cally dura­bi­lity. The project grew out of a clearly iden­ti­fied long-term need for a youth recrea­tion faci­lity and is built prima­rily from locally sourced long service life mate­rials and time tested detailing. Carbon steel and float glass are manu­fac­tured in regional mills and are 100% recy­clable. White oak, among the densest and most resistant of the Appa­la­chian hard­woods, is sustain­ably harve­sted and locally sawn. Low consump­tion plum­bing fixtures, LED lighting and smart fans limit water and elec­tri­city usage. A swale ensures that storm water returns slowly to the water table. And finally, the angle and density of the sun-screen increases from east to west in order to invite the warming morning sun and to shelter from the hot after­noon sun.

Prefabrication

Prefa­bri­ca­tion is central to the design/buildLAB’s educa­tional approach, because it allows a single group of students to lead a project from concep­tion to realiza­tion, and expe­ri­ence the enti­rety of the process of making archi­tec­ture. The students prefa­bri­cated the large majo­rity of the Fieldhouse’s buil­ding compon­ents at VA Tech, while local contrac­tors conducted the site work. This allowed for phases of cons­truc­tion, which usually happen in sequence, to happen simul­ta­neously. The effi­ci­ency of working in a controlled envi­ron­ment is essen­tial in achie­ving the sche­dule of one academic year. The prefa­bri­cated buil­ding compon­ents were assem­bled on site with a crane. In total, the students prefa­bri­cated and assem­bled the struc­ture in less than five months.

The project is cons­tructed from 4 primary compon­ents, each in a distinct mate­rial: concrete plinth, carbon steel screens, wood roof panels and white lami­nated glass enve­lopes. Shop drawings for all members of each compo­nent were extra­cted from a computer model, faci­li­ta­ting precise and effi­cient off-site prefa­bri­ca­tion.

All concrete form­work was prefa­bri­cated and trans­ported to the site to pour the porch terraces, knee walls, stairs, and slabs. The struc­tural steel bents and screens were pre-welded using a series of jigs and bolted into place on site, allo­wing the frame to be easily and effi­ci­ently assem­bled. Drop from major struc­tural elements was used to fabri­cate furni­ture such as picnic tables and a kitchen island. The trape­zo­idal wood roof panels were shop-built, craned into place and bolted to the steel struc­ture. The trans­lu­cent glass enve­lope was panelized, nested, coded and factory cut to mini­mize waste and expe­dite on-site instal­la­tion.

Couch

by | 17 Apr 2018 | Sports Grounds, Sports Grounds

Couch with a view

The clubhouse of IJburg Tennis Club

Ijburg

The Couch is the new club house of IJburg Tennis Club in a new district to the east of Amsterdam. On its six arti­fi­cial islands, 18,000 homes will be even­tually be built for 45,000 resi­dents. At present, the district holds just 16,000 of these inha­bi­tants. There are many initia­tives to attract people to the area, such as the beach at Blij­burg aan Zee, and the newly formed IJburg Tennis Club itself. The tennis club, curr­ently with 1,100 members, has 10 clay courts and a tennis school. The Couch is the centre of the club’s acti­vi­ties. The zoning for the area allowed space for a tennis club, but a buil­ding could not be built quick enough, and so the courts were made and a tempo­rary faci­lity installed.

Accessible icon

MVRDV’s design filled the gap with an iconi­cally func­tional buil­ding. The Couch provides both a viewing plat­form and a club over­loo­king the water. The aim of the club is to be as acces­sible as possible, meaning that it is open to the public, free of charge, 365 days a year. Not a private club, but a meeting place for young and old, where you can grab a coffee and a healthy snack, or meet with friends, or even just check your emails. MVRDV’s chall­enge was to create a buil­ding that works as a central gathe­ring for the area. A living room for IJburg, where the buil­ding becomes a part of the commu­nity like piece of street furni­ture.

Architect

MVRDV
Achter­klooster  7
NL — 3011 RA Rotterdam 

Team

Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries
Renske van der Stoep, Pepijn Bakker, Arjen Ketting, Sanne van der Burgh, Cris­tina Gonzalo, Rosa Rogina

Studio Bouwhaven, Baren­d­recht

Client

TC IJburg
Amsterdam
Nether­lands

Photograph

Daria Scagliola & Stijn Brakkee

Author

MVRDV

Opening

2015

Address

Tennis­club IJburg
Zandzeg­ge­straat 1
NL-1087 SL Amsterdam

Aerial view

Thank you, Google!

Site plan + ground plan

The roof dips down

The club house is a long open volume with services on either side such as dres­sing rooms, a kitchen, storage and toilets. The main space is multi­func­tional, so it can be used for the club’s many events. The roof dips down towards the south side and is raised towards the north up to a height of seven metres, crea­ting an informal grand­stand for the club.  The wide glass front to the north side allows exten­sive natural lighting and provides a view out over the waters of the IJ-lake.

Inside the Couch

Inside the club house, the concrete cons­truc­tion is clad with FSC-certi­fied wood, with the outside fully sealed with an EPDM polymer hotspray in the same colour and texture as the clay tennis courts. The reduced glass surface to the south helps to cool the buil­ding. The thermal mass charac­te­ristics of the mate­ria­li­sa­tion in concrete and wood are used to reach a high degree of energy effi­ci­ency. The buil­ding is heated with district heating made effi­cient by a heat exch­ange system. In summer there will be natural venti­la­tion, adding to the ambi­tious sustaina­bi­lity profile of the struc­ture.

A club­house as a meeting place for an entire district: MVRDV make tennis a trend sport.

Images

Stade du Merlan

by | 28 Feb 2018 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

Learning from turtles

Stade du Merlan in Marseille

Noisy neighbours

The project of Stade du Merlan meets two funda­mental ques­tions: the wish of contrac­ting autho­ri­ties not to stig­ma­tize a neigh­bor­hood, and the desire to design some archi­tec­ture.

The current site was aban­doned and was the scene of burned cars and all kind of smugg­lings. The cons­traints were announced, the speci­fi­ca­tions well defined:

- A disad­van­taged neigh­bor­hood, plagued with delin­quency
— The neces­sary manage­ment of unwanted intru­sions
— A grid impos­sible to cross and resistant to attacks
— A buil­ding resis­ting to burgla­ries, graf­fitis, broken windows, squat­ting…
— All this respec­ting, of course, ease of main­ten­ance and servicing.

Bunker vs turtle

The importance of archi­tec­tural design seemed so essen­tial and, to bunker-like archi­tec­ture in such neigh­bor­hoods where some­times famous mediated scenes take place, we have preferred a „turtle-like“ inter­ven­tion for Stade du Merlan!

So the choice is simple, besides being adapted to the site: buil­dings will be buried in order to protect facades and roofs, to control access, and thus, provide a green space lacking in these concrete asphalt neigh­bor­hoods.

This unex­pected func­tional response should not only inter­vene on the lives of people but also trans­form the aesthe­tics of Stade du Merlan: crea­ting a „bubble of air“, a paren­thesis, a kind of sacred place of sports and recrea­tion, dedi­cated to schools and resi­dents. The project borrows a vegetal voca­bu­lary to offer a unique outdoor space!

Architects

ATELIER NAOM* (New Architectes Of’ Marseille) 467 avenue de mazargues 13008 Marseille Frankreich

Client

STB Northeast 20 Bd Françoise Duparc 13 004 Marseille Frankreich

Address

Avenue de l’escadrille Normandie-Niemen Marseille 13e Frankreich

Aerial view

Thank you, Google!

Author

ATELIER NAOM*

Photograph

ATELIER NAOM*

Construction costs

€3,265,000

Opening

2016

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Materials

The patina of corten steel, in warm shades ranging from orange to brown, evoking the color of the earth, joins the green slopes dotted with fallow lands and flowers.

The blades of the fence offe­ring closed view from the front, evapo­rate quickly like twigs in side view, allo­wing to close the site while keeping a sensible and percep­tible link with the nearby urban context. With the esthe­tics of this fence, we under­stand that it was not just to close, to delimit or to erect a barrier between Stade du Merlan and the rest of the world: buil­ding concep­tion and archi­tec­ture means above all crea­ting links.

 

Sirens of mass distribution

As well, from a prac­tical point of view, the selec­tion of a mate­rial such as corten steel is a sustainable choice because it is stable over time, natu­rally durable and easy to main­tain: after sanding (e,g, of a graf­fiti), the patina rege­ne­rates itself.

The entire street furni­ture was created for Stade du Merlan and, from the grid of tree to the inte­rior signage, every detail is an oppor­tu­nity to express our role as desi­gner and to resist in our own way, to the sirens of mass distri­bu­tion and its stan­dard cata­logs.

Photographs

Barrancabermeja

by | 28 Feb 2018 | Outdoor, Outdoor, Sports Grounds, Sports Grounds

Architecture is action

 A roof for Barrancabermeja´s Parks

Barrancabermeja

In Barranca­ber­meja, a muni­ci­pa­lity on the banks of the river Magda­lena, in Colombia’s depart­ment of Santander, stands this open pavi­lion contai­ning recrea­tional and sports faci­li­ties. The 7,000-square-meter public center is protected by a modular struc­ture raised on slender columns, faci­li­ta­ting future enlar­ge­ments. The system of elon­gated rhombi has openings to filter in sunlight and incor­po­rate venti­la­tors, sprink­lers, and sound and lighting devices.

Prototype

This projects aim is to create an open space that gives true rele­vance to the role of the commu­nity in the cons­truc­tion of a city. A modular system is composed from an elon­gated rhombus type piece that multi­plies and unites in a base module or a comple­men­tary module, making an adap­table and progres­si­vely growing and trans­forming struc­ture. A vast gene­ra­tive ceiling emerges from a series of connected and raised pieces that allow exis­ting and unique reali­ties of its loca­tion to infil­trate within its inte­riors. A sequence of physical percep­tions based on natural factors such as humi­dity, heat, cold or lumi­no­sity accom­pa­nied by controlled elements like light filtra­tion, fans and asper­sers, or sound and water imple­men­ta­tions, create a spon­ta­neous atmo­sphere that make people sensible to their own bodies rela­ti­onship with nature.

Architect

El Equipo Mazz­anti
Calle 69 No. 10 — 06
Bogotá
Colombia

Team

Gian­carlo Mazz­anti, Carlos Medellín, Humberto Mora, Simón Escabi, Juan Carlos Zapata, Luz Rocío Lamprea, Juan Carlos Zapata, Laura Pachón, Lorena Mendoza, Manuela Dangond, Andrés Melo,  Juan Esteban Parra, Julian Quiroz, Pablo Maal

Struc­tural engi­neer
Nicolás Parra

Client

Muni­cipio de Barranca­ber­meja

Author

El Equipo Mazz­anti

Photograph

Alejandro Arango — Pequeño Robot
Dirección de foto­grafía: Mariana Bravo

Opening

2016

Video
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Structure

The struc­ture acts as a tool for promo­ting any sort of acti­vi­ties ranging from spor­tive, ludic, economic, academic and cultural, to social, taking advan­tage of its open kind that suggests inter­ac­tions between people and with nature. The design is defined by the trees’ and bushes’ shape, which deter­mine if the struc­ture bends, expands or wraps around them.

El Equipo Mazzanti

The archi­tects El Equipo Mazz­anti state: “Archi­tec­ture is action. We induce actions, happe­ning and rela­ti­onships, which allows us to develop forms, pattern and open mate­rial orga­niza­tions that act in the social opera­tions cons­truc­tion. With this we don´t refer to the appli­ca­tion of func­tional autho­ri­ta­rian diagrams but the action that trigger new day to day inter­ac­tions that are able to trigger beha­viors and new dyna­mics, encou­ra­ging people to act in ways they´ll never think to act.”

Rwanda Cricket Stadium

by | 8 Feb 2018 | Sports Grounds, Stadia

Celebrating imperfection

Rwanda Cricket Stadium

History

Cricket was barely played in Rwanda before the 1994 geno­cide. Now there are 7,000 players nati­on­wide, and the sport is playing a lead role in the healing process. The inau­gu­ra­tion of Rwanda Cricket Stadium marks the end of a remar­kable six-year under­ta­king by the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foun­da­tion who have raised the £1 million required to build the spec­ta­cular new home of Rwandan cricket. Previously Rwanda’s only other cricket pitch was at at Ecole Tech­nique Offi­ci­elle, the site of a noto­rious 1994 massacre and the loca­tion of the film Shoo­ting Dogs.

The Rwanda Cricket Stadium is desi­gned for long-term sustaina­bi­lity. The entire site is being cons­tructed to ensure signi­fi­cant carbon savings and sustainable water usage, it will incor­po­rate envi­ron­men­tally sensi­tive design, provide jobs for the local commu­nity, and ensure a revenue stream that will allow for the upkeep of the faci­lity and further invest­ment in the game. The cons­truc­tion process used predo­mi­nantly local labour, inves­ting in the local commu­nity.

The new pavi­lion, which will also serve as an HIV testing centre and restau­rant in the future is a fanta­stic feat of engi­nee­ring, built using 66,000 hand­made tiles in layers without using concrete. The arched pavi­lion design repres­ents the fall of a boun­cing ball and spec­tator seating will be carved out of the earth to mimic the terraced farms on the steep Kigali Hills that provide a spec­ta­cular back­drop.

Architect

Light Earth Designs
Pioneer House
Chivers Way
Histon
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
UK-CB24 9NL

Team

Tim Hall, Michael Ramage, Ana Gatóo, Ben Veyrac, Wesam Al Asali, Anton Larsen, Marco Groenstege, Oliver Hudson, Killian Doherty

Client

Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation
PHOTOGRAPHS

Construction

Die Fliesen wurden vor Ort aus lokalen Mate­ria­lien von ange­lernten Einhei­mi­schen herge­stellt. Sie wurden mit einer kleinen Zugabe von Zement hydrau­lisch gepresst und mussten nicht gebrannt werden. Sie wurden schicht­weise auf ein provi­so­ri­sches Holz­ske­lett gelegt und sind für Spann­weiten von bis zu 16 Metern geeignet. Geogitter wurden hinzu­ge­fügt, um einen gewissen seis­mi­schen Schutz zu bieten. Die Schalen sind wasser­dicht und wurden dann mit lokalem gebro­chenem Granit (der überall im Land zu finden ist) über­zogen.

In die Gewölbe werden einfache, effi­zi­ente und dünne Beton­ti­sche einge­setzt, die Platz für die geschlos­senen Funk­tionen der Service­be­reiche bieten: Umklei­de­räume, Büros, Restau­rant. Diese Tische sind mit natür­li­chen ruan­di­schen Fliesen gestaltet. Die offenen Mezza­nine – die Bar und das Club­haus – bieten einen herr­li­chen Panora­ma­blick über das Oval und in die wunder­schöne Land­schaft.

Mit Hilfe von Ziegel­steinen werden Grenzen und Zwischen­räume defi­niert, die oft in perfo­rierter Fugen verlegt werden, so dass Luft und Licht hindurch gelangen. Für den Boden­belag werden die Abfälle des ruan­di­schen Granit­bo­dens und der Arbeits­platten verwendet. Die Sperr­holz-Recht­ecke, aus denen die Fliesen gepresst werden, werden als Arbeits­platten wieder­ver­wendet, während Holz und Sperr­holz aus der Gewöl­be­füh­rung zu Türen verar­beitet werden, so dass ein Maximum an Abfall­stoffen in die Primär­pro­duk­tion gelangt. Die Stütz­mauern bestehen entweder aus lokalen Granit­blö­cken oder sind hohl, um die Bepflan­zung zu ermög­li­chen.

Author

Light Earth Designs
Johannes Bühlbecker

Photograph

Light Earth Designs
Michael Ramage, Jonathan Gregson

Address

Unnamed Road
Ruanda

Aerial view

Thank you, Google!
SITE PLAN
SECTION
LEVEL 0
LEVEL1

Prospects

The buil­ding grows out of the cut soil banking that was formed as the pitch was levelled — thus beco­ming part of the land­scape. The banking creates a wonderful natural amphi­theatre with great views to the pitch and wetland valley beyond.

Whilst the language of the buil­ding speaks about progres­sion and dyna­mism through extreme struc­tural effi­ci­ency, the mate­rials speak of the natural, the hand made and the human. It a buil­ding made by Rwandans using Rwandan mate­rials.

The imper­fec­tions are cele­brated — they are human and beau­tiful — and when combined with the laye­ring of natural textures the buil­ding becomes imbues and cele­brates this wonderful place.

A’Beckett Urban Square

by | 7 Feb 2018 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

Instant magnet

A’Beckett Urban Square in Melbourne

Pop-up

A’Beckett Urban Square is a tempo­rary ‘pop-up’ recrea­tional space that has become an instant magnet for students and young urban dwel­lers. Located behind the new Swan­ston Academic Buil­ding the site had been used by RMIT Univer­sity for many years as an open air car park. RMIT has gene­rously turned this unde­r­uti­lised and dere­lict space into a publi­cally-acces­sible 2,800 square metre park incor­po­ra­ting multi-use sports courts with spec­tator seating, table tennis, BBQ faci­li­ties, bike parking, Wi-Fi, pop-up plants in tubs and places to sit and relax.

RMIT will develop this site in the near future; in the mean­time the univer­sity has opened up the site as a tempo­rary place for casual recrea­tion and enga­ge­ment. There is almost nowhere in the city to play casual sport so it is hardly surpri­sing that the new faci­lity has become so popular. A’Beckett Urban Square adds a new venue to connect the Univer­sity with the city and its people.

Architect

Peter Elliott Architecture + Urban Design Level 11|180 Russell Street Melbourne AUS-Victoria 3000

Team

Peter Elliott, Catherine Duggan, Sean van der Velden, Daniel Bennetts, Juliet Maxsted

Client

RMIT University, Melbourne
SITE PLAN

Approach

The design approach is purpo­sefully lean, deve­lo­ping upon the idea of a tempo­rary and demoun­table instal­la­tion. Typi­cally ‘pop-ups’ occupy leftover and unde­r­uti­lised spaces through the use of recy­cled mate­rials and the clever adap­tion of ever­yday found objects. They are often gritty spaces that are curated rather than desi­gned. A’Beckett Urban Square was conceived as a piece of urban theatre carved out of the surroun­ding city, which is framed by new resi­den­tial towers, multi-level car parks and RMIT academic buil­dings.

There is a playful use of bold colours and graphics on the ground plane to distin­guish the active hard zones from passive soft zones. Wrap­ping the site on two sides is a speci­ally commis­sioned large-scale artwork by Melbourne artist Ash Keating, titled Natural System Response. Keating’s work provides an enga­ging and ener­getic back­drop to the space with abstract swaths of verdant greens, searing reds and fluo­re­s­cent oranges cove­ring walls several metres high. Keating created the murals to repre­sent the idea of an urban forest and a desert land­scape, using airless spray from pres­su­rised, paint-filled fire extin­gu­is­hers.

BEFORE
AFTER
ART

An active place for casual recreation

A’Beckett Urban Square has been made as a demoun­table instal­la­tion from a recy­clable kit-of-parts. It is an active place for casual recrea­tion, mainly for ball sports like basket­ball and volley­ball. It is a place to socia­lise, relax and watch people. It has lots of casual seating, spec­tator tiering and benches offe­ring good surveil­lance. It is a place for informal lear­ning with Wi-Fi access and spaces to gather.

The eastern edge connects across a pede­stria­nized Stewart Street to the SAB buil­ding retail fron­tage and the main campus beyond. Land­scape is limited to the estab­lished peri­meter street trees and new plants in timber tubs scat­tered over a strip of arti­fi­cial turf.

Go there any after­noon or evening and you will find crowds of young people shoo­ting hoops or hanging around chat­ting or watching. A’Beckett Urban Square is a gritty fun place full of active energy and socia­bi­lity. Its success shows how important urban recrea­tion spaces are to the life of the city.

Author

Peter Elliott Architecture + Urban Design

Photograph

John Gollings,Ash Keating, Tony Owczarek

Address

22–46 A’Beckett St AUS-Melbourne VIC 3000

Aerial view

Thank you, Google!
PHOTOGRAPHS

Skatepark Bethlehem

by | 14 Dec 2017 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

 A place to make friends 

 Bethlehem Skate Park

Situation

Beth­lehem Skate Park is located at SOS Children’s Village boar­ding school close to the histo­rical place Shephard´s Field in eastern Beth­lehem. To accom­mo­date for the growing number of perma­nent resi­dents as well as regular visi­ting school kids, the manage­ment wished to expand and enhance their site. The area to the villages east at that time was a worn-out play­ground that was unused and ther­e­fore desi­gnated to be repur­posed. In colla­bo­ra­tion with Skate-Aid and Beton­land­schaften the layout was adjusted to fit a field for ball games, tradi­tional play­ground elements like slides, swings, etc. as well as a skate­park of reasonable size.

The popu­la­tion of Beth­lehem still suffers under high poverty and unem­ploy­ment rates. Around 46% of the popu­la­tion is living under the govern­mental poverty level. Most of the young people who reside at SOS Children´s Village have lost their parents through warlike conflicts or terrors. They are in need of proper educa­tion which is mostly absent in the public sector. But not only educa­tion is missing: Children need a place to hang out and spend their free time, to work off their energy, meet up with friends and make new ones.

Designer

maier land­schafts­ar­chi­tektur // Beton­land­schaften
Rösra­ther Straße 769
D‑51107 Cologne

Client

 SOS Children’s Village
Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds Deutsch­land e.V.
Ridler­straße 55
D‑80339 Munich

Partner

skate-aid e.V.
Schei­ben­straße 121
D‑48153 Münster

SITE PLAN

ISRAEL & PALESTINE

BETHLEHEM

SOS CHILDREN‘S VILLAGE

Bethlehem Skate Park

The design goal was to make the best use of the pre-exis­ting terrain, trees and other features to create a natural, organic flow and not inter­rupt the land­scape by forcing a shape onto it. A nice effect of this was that use of mate­rial and labour could be kept at a minimum, which resulted in low expenses for the NGO’s. All while the required stan­dards for skate­parks still could be matched resul­ting in a durable cons­truc­tion, which is up to par with modern parks around the world. The subs­truc­ture is made up from load-bearing layers of gravel, topped with rein­forced concrete that is smoot­hened in a special treat­ment. This way the rolling sounds and drag on the wheels are reduced resul­ting in a smooth ride without obstruc­tions or exces­sive noise. Still the grey concrete surface prompts some­what unsett­ling asso­cia­tions in a city divided by a wall from the same mate­rial. The whole park was ther­e­fore finally coloured in cheerful colours mostly with the help of the children living in the village. Along­side with volun­teers from both Germany and Pales­tine who were involved in buil­ding Beth­lehem Skate Park, super­vised by a repre­sen­ta­tive of Beton­land­schaften.

Since the sports area is on the villages property and located behind most of its infra­struc­ture inclu­ding a gatekeeper’s house, it is easy to monitor people ente­ring and leaving. Ther­e­fore, the spot is some­what secluded which under­lines the safe-space character and general idea of the park. The children do not have to be super­vised and can play in peace while still bene­fit­ting from simple and effec­tive protec­tion against poten­ti­ally harmful outsi­ders. A sepa­rate main­ten­ance entrance with a lockable gate is on street level and makes for easy car and wheel­chair acces­si­bi­lity.

Beth­lehem Skate Park also chal­lenges the estab­lished look of a skate­park. Obviously, the park is made of concrete, but who said that it has to be grey? The Idea of the park was to give it a new look and even achieve an optical illu­sion by projec­ting two colourful images on the surface and trace them with paint. That is why the lines look straight although the area is not flat. Once coloured, the process is never over. Children want to have change in their ever­yday life. This is why the design of the park can be changed by kids toge­ther with their teachers. It perso­na­lizes the whole area to be exactly how the users want to have it. The possi­bi­li­ties to improve art and design skills of the students are endless.

Address

Derech S.O.S
Beth­lehem

Aerial view

Thank you, Google

Construction costs

€30,000

PHOTOGRAPHS

Goals

With only volun­tary work and under the tight budget rest­ric­tions of huma­ni­ta­rian aid, it was still possible to create a unique, in-situ skate­park that is well within the reco­g­nised inter­na­tional stan­dards while chal­len­ging pre-exis­ting expec­ta­tions on how a skate­park is supposed to look like at the same time.

Beth­lehem Skate Park was deve­loped to increase self-confi­dence and corpo­rate feeling amongst the children through sports and exer­cises. The new skate park was built just inside the property of the school in order to keep it as close to the children as possible. In this safe place, the children can spend their time without being influenced by the poli­tical debate and by dangers happe­ning in Beth­lehem. They can discover the world of skate­boar­ding and learn self-reli­ance!

While plan­ning and cons­truc­ting the skate­park one of the most important aspects was to involve its future users in this process. As a conse­quence, the kids could design the area for them­selves and therein gain important expe­ri­ence in handi­craft and craft­sman­ship. Addi­tio­nally, it increased the posi­tive atti­tude towards the project. Those actions broa­dened young people´s skills and possibly influenced their job pros­pects. Having constant access to sport acti­vi­ties such as skate­boar­ding can not only improve the self-confi­dence of children, but also give them a plat­form to work on their skills and expe­ri­ence the progress of trai­ning. Skate­boar­ding is a very perso­na­lized sport that brings young people toge­ther at the same time.

Tradi­tional huma­ni­ta­rian aid projects mainly focus on one single matter that is often addressed without conside­ring its surroun­ding social system, which results in not sustainable results. A skate­park on the other hand provides a strongly empowe­ring plat­form for the youn­gest to build upon. It enables them to change their tradi­tional mindset on their own terms and build a better future for them­selves and their country instead of telling them what to do and how to do it.

Author of text

Ralf Maier
Beton­land­schaften

Photographs

Ralf Maier, Harry Gerrard, Chris­to­pher Kintrup, Samantha Robinson

Videos Skate- Aid, Harry Gerrard

VIDEOS

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<iframe width=“560” height=“315” src=“https://www.youtube.com/embed/1nIZH6yyFB8?rel=0&showinfo=0” frameborder=“0” gesture=“media” allow=“encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe>

Janwaar Castle

by | 27 Nov 2017 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

No school, no skateboarding

Janwaar Castle in India

Starting at minimum standards

Janwaar Castle is located at the eastern buffer zone of Pana National Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India. Janwaar is a small village close to Panna in the nort­hern part of Madhya Pradesh – one of the biggest and poorest states in India. 1,000 people (300 children) live here, a mix of Adivasi and Yadav. Casteism and gender inequa­lity are preva­lent.

The people in Janwaar were relo­cated from the Panna National Tiger Park when the park was founded in 1981. The village has no history, it hasn’t grown up over time – the houses are widely spaced and meet minimum stan­dards. Janwaar has elec­tri­city, not in every house though, and it comes with the usual cuts of 6–8 hours a day. Water and sani­ta­tion are a big issue. There are no health faci­li­ties, no shops, stores or busi­nesses in Janwaar.

In the centre of this village, a group of profes­sional and passio­nate skate­boar­ders built a skating park: Ulrike Rein­hardt in colla­bo­ra­tion with Skate-Aid, Beton­land­schaften and lots of unnamed volun­teers. Today, Janwaar a unique place in India.

Designer

Betonlandschaften/ maier­land­schafts­ar­chi­tektur
Dipl.-Ing. Ralf Maier
Rösra­ther Straße 769
D‑51107 Cologne

Team

skate-aid e.V.
Schei­ben­straße 121
D‑48153 Münster

Client + operator

Ulrike Rein­hardt

All levels welcome

The multi­func­tional skate faci­lity can be used by profes­sional skate­boar­ders as well as begin­ners like kids, who have never skated before. There is enough flat surface so the basic moves like balan­cing on a board can easily be prac­ticed. Even more expe­ri­enced skaters can use this spot to work on their skills like flip­ping the board. The next step is to roll up and down sloped surfaces to get a feeling for the motion. The faci­lity provides small skate elements like banks or wobbles, where this can be prac­tised – enough to get the basic moves and enable further progress. Tran­si­tions are a classic element of skating, simply formed as a quarter of the pipe at diffe­rent radii and heights. This element requires more expe­ri­ence to skate than banks but seems to be easy to ride for most Janwaar kids.

Further elements of the faci­lity are curbs, ledges and rails which chall­enge the skills of even profes­sional skate­boar­ders. The whole skate­park can be seen as a trai­ning faci­lity for all levels. Many Indian and even some inter­na­tional profes­sio­nals come here and perform their tricks at Janwaar.

The place­ment of skate elements is a very important aspect since it deter­mines the number of users and ways to use each element. Janwaar Castle is desi­gned to be used by many students at the same time without running the risk of colli­sion. This was made possible by placing the elements in a square form. Skaters can ride from one part of the park to another while still allo­wing for a lot of free space.

The subs­truc­ture is made up from load-bearing layers of gravel, topped with rein­forced concrete that is smoot­hened in a special treat­ment. This way the noise and drags are reduced resul­ting in a smooth ride without obstruc­tions or exces­sive noise. With only volun­tary work and under the tight budget rest­ric­tions of huma­ni­ta­rian aid, it was still possible to create a unique, in-situ skate­park that holds up with reco­g­nised inter­na­tional stan­dards.

Address

Panna Khaju­raho Road
Janwar
Madhya Pradesh 488441
India

Aerial view

Thank you, Google
}

Opening

2015
PHOTOGRAPHS

Girls first

Janwar Castle has two simple rules, „No school, no skate­boar­ding“ and „Girls first“.

Kids are taught to skate­board and they learn it sple­ndidly. More important, they learn to learn and colla­bo­rate. Kids teach other kids, encou­rage others, and build an atmo­sphere of lear­ning and prac­tice. “ No school, no skate­boar­ding ” ensures that all children at the skate­park regu­larly attend school. This has resulted in an increase in atten­dance rates of the students along with a more enthu­si­a­stic and posi­tive outlook overall.

Gender equa­lity was taught to kids using an inno­va­tive method named “Girls first!”, where any girl gets a right to use a skate­board first. All she needs to do is ask.

 

Author of text

Ralf Maier

Photograph

 Vicky Roy

 

Sport overcomes all boundaries

 The biggest task, however, was to bring Yadavs and Adivasis, toge­ther. Big parts of India still face caste-based discri­mi­na­tion. Some important values, like respect and gender equa­lity were brought to the children who are affected by the caste system. Since children in India are raised in an envi­ron­ment of great segre­ga­tion, it often becomes very diffi­cult to make friend­ships between kids from diffe­rent castes. At the skate­park ever­yone is equal and able to commu­ni­cate, play and share the fun with ever­yone, no matter where he or she is from.

Skate­boar­ding helps the students to develop their social skills and lets them interact in an uncons­trained envi­ron­ment. It helps them to commu­ni­cate more and exch­ange their skating expe­ri­ences. These abili­ties have a posi­tive influence on their life since inter­ac­ting provides cont­acts and improves commu­ni­ca­tion skills.

Janwaar Castle provides a strongly empowe­ring plat­form for the youn­gest to build upon. It enables them to change their tradi­tional mindset and build a better future for them­selves and their country instead of telling them what to do and how to do it.

Construction costs

€20,000

VIDEOS
<iframe width=“560” height=“315” src=“https://www.youtube.com/embed/XHZIvCxSJ6U?rel=0” frameborder=“0” allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
<iframe width=“560” height=“315” src=“https://www.youtube.com/embed/O5pAzpwXr60?rel=0” frameborder=“0” allowfullscreen></iframe>
THE DESIGNER
Ralf Maier – Free landscape architect, CEO of Betonlandschaften/maierlandschaftsarchitektur

Skate­parks are for ever­yone!

This is the guiding prin­ciple of Beton­land­schaften.
The office looks back on many years of profes­sional expe­ri­ence in the plan­ning of skate and bike parks. The broadly posi­tioned team, active in the scene, knows the needs of all user groups and imple­ments them. As the only land­scape archi­tec­ture firm specia­li­sing in action sports in Germany, Beton­land­schaften knows how to combine these requi­re­ments with those of the muni­ci­pa­li­ties.

FIVE ANSWERS BY RALF MAIER
  1. Please tell us about your top 5 sports faci­li­ties.
    The Top 5 built by us are: Skate­park Betlehem (Pales­tine), Janwaar Castle (India), Skate­park Karoh (Afgha­ni­stan), Spiel- und Frei­zeit­park Gummers­bach and Wheel­park Wiehl (both in Germany).
  2. Which archi­tects and buil­dings have left a lasting impres­sion on you?
    Buil­dings: Cologne Cathe­dral, Eiffel Tower, Karwendel Giant telescope and Holmen­kollen ski jump. And archi­tects who focus on people and nature and not on their own ego.
  3. What and whom do you consider as industry trends and trend­set­ters?
    Multi-func­tional sports and leisure faci­li­ties, acces­sible and open to anyone.
  4. What book should archi­tects in this industry abso­lutely read?
    “Why do Archi­tects wear black?” by Cordula Rau
  5. What is/was your favo­rite song to listen to while desig­ning?
    Chicane: Don‘t give up

Panyee FC

by | 6 Nov 2017 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

The floating pitch

The history of Panyee FC

 

Passion and ingenuity

in 1986, a group of young foot­ball fans in the island fishing village of Koh Panyee started their own foot­ball team. Reco­gni­zing that their island provided no open space for sports, they built a floa­ting pitch from scrap wood and old fishing rafts in the middle of the ocean to serve as their foot­ball field: the Panyee FC stadium.

 Their passion and inge­nuity, combined with the tech­nical skills they deve­loped through prac­tice on such a small, rough field, were the start of history. The team began to enter compe­ti­tions on the main­land. After making it to the semi-finals in an inland tour­na­ment, all the village were inspired to take up the sport. They built a brand new pitch, although the wooden one still remains and is popular among tourists.

 The boys who built the first pitch back in 1986 are now grown men. Their success turned the Panyee FC into what is today: one of southern Thailand’s known foot­ball clubs, having won the youth cham­pions of southern Thai­land’ several times.

 The video is part of an ad campaign by Thai Mili­tary Bank and high­lights the story of Koh Panyee and Panyee FC.

 

Elda

by | 15 Sep 2017 | Outdoor, Sports Grounds

Bonus Track

Elda Stadium

 

Nothing but boredom

The design of an athle­tics faci­lity is actually as boring as it is stan­dar­dised and predic­table as its subse­quent use: curve, straight, curve, straight — as long as you want. Perfectly stan­dar­dized sports archi­tec­ture is as universal as little else: the track is thus 400 metres long, the bend radius is 36.5 metres and the lane width 1.22 metres. Same in Elda, a city with 55,000 inha­bi­tants northwest of Alicante.

Elda stadium meets all these criteria, but adds a spec­ta­cular inno­va­tion to the range of sports faci­li­ties on offer: a “Bonus Track”. The Spanish archi­tects of subar­qui­tec­tura (Alicante) added six six extra lanes that branch off behind and above the stand at the begin­ning of the straight and rejoin the straight at the far end of the stand.

Architects

Subar­qui­tec­tura

Team

Andrés Silanes, Fernando Valder­rama, Carlos Bañón

Client

Admi­nis­tra­tion of the City of Elda
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Completion

2011

Great gesture, bold attitude

This grand design gesture is also func­tion­ally plau­sible: the addi­tional lanes form a roof over the curved chan­ging room area and form the rear demar­ca­tion of a small grand­stand with a capa­city of 300 spec­ta­tors. In addi­tion to the two chan­ging rooms, the 350 m² area also includes office and storage rooms, a multi­pur­pose room and spec­tator toilets.

The consis­tent avoid­ance of elabo­rate mate­rials and details — the façade design is reduced to a sheet steel grid with a band of windows — under­lines the bold atti­tude of the plan­ners.

 

Picture gallery

Accessible for everyone

Faci­lity access and use of Elda stadium are barrier-free. Visi­tors and athletes enter the chan­ging rooms and the inte­rior through the ground floor tunnel. Tracks and inclines are desi­gned to be suitable for wheel­chair users

Author of text

Subar­qui­tec­tura

Photographs

David Frutos Ruiz
Subar­qui­tec­tura

Plans & Drawings

Great everyday life

Elda stadium raises the stan­dar­dised athle­tics compe­ti­tion area to the third dimen­sion. At the same time, viewers are moving into a new, central posi­tion. This solu­tion may be hard to realize for large compe­ti­tions with many spec­ta­tors, but it is a great impulse for the much more frequent daily sporting acti­vi­ties.

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