The blue wonder

What’s up?

In the muni­ci­pa­lity of Balzers in the Prin­ci­pa­lity of Liech­ten­stein, a versa­tile all-weather pitch was created in the imme­diate vici­nity of a primary and secon­dary school to replace a rather mono­func­tional red plastic pitch: the Blue Pitch.
Whether ball games, clim­bing adven­tures, balan­cing acts, sports lessons or deep breathing: the Blue Pitch focuses on maximum versa­ti­lity. Three differ­ently equipped playing fields offer space for foot­ball, basket­ball and nume­rous other games. In between, open spaces have been created for spon­ta­neous forms of exer­cise. Athle­tics faci­li­ties, bould­e­ring elements, a slack­line, ground tram­po­lines and the dynamic balance game Super Nova make exer­cise an expe­ri­ence for all abili­ties.

The faci­li­ties in detail:

• Two multi­func­tional pitches measu­ring 11m x 6.5m with small goals, one of which has a net system
• One multi­func­tional pitch (20m x 13m) with fixed basket­ball hoops
• 50m running track and long jump faci­lity
• Clim­bing course, 3‑bar hori­zontal bar, hanging course and bould­e­ring faci­lity
• Super Nova
• Tram­po­line track and slack­line
• Circular running track
• Running school, balance, jumping and coor­di­na­tion games

The design was created by the Swiss plan­ning office Wegmüller.

Whatever you want

The Blue Square is both a meeting place and a trai­ning ground.

• School­children use it during lessons, at break time and after school.
• Sports clubs benefit from the varied outdoor trai­ning oppor­tu­ni­ties.
• Fami­lies enjoy a range of acti­vi­ties toge­ther that even small children can intui­tively use.
• Indi­vi­dual athletes find plenty of space for working out, jogging or chil­ling out under the newly planted trees.

The design consis­t­ently follows the prin­ciple of inclu­sion. All paths, access points and play areas are desi­gned so that they can also be used by people with disa­bi­li­ties. The over­lap­ping markings, free-form design and varying shades of blue of the PU-bound sports surface create an invi­ting, intui­tive envi­ron­ment that does not dictate how you have to move, but inspires you to move however you want.

The low-emis­sion LED lighting can be acti­vated at the touch of a button until 10 p.m., allo­wing the space to be used in the evening as well.

How it works

Although the actual sports area is now smaller than before the reno­va­tion, the range of acti­vi­ties on offer to the diverse user groups, from primary school children to senior citi­zens, has multi­plied.

The Blue Square is not a sports field in the tradi­tional sense, but a lively exer­cise area for the entire commu­nity: a place to burn off energy, try things out, play, train, meet and linger. It is an example of what open space design can look like today: diverse, inclu­sive and full of joy in move­ment.

Thanks to courage in plan­ning and quality in execu­tion.

Floor areas: The top layer

Coloured GEZOFLEX EPDM granu­late from GEZOLAN AG was used for the top layer of the elastic floo­ring in the new, multi­func­tional exer­cise room in Balzers, as well as for the hemi­sphe­rical 3D elements. The rubber granu­late from the Swiss manu­fac­turer is charac­te­rised by consis­t­ently high mate­rial quality, good UV and weather resis­tance, and reliable colour fast­ness. These proper­ties help to ensure that the surfaces can with­stand the various usage requi­re­ments of the open exer­cise area on a long-term basis.

For the Blue Square, the colours 054 dark blue and 084 bright blue were used both as indi­vi­dual colours and in coor­di­nated mixtures. The mate­rial thus makes a signi­fi­cant contri­bu­tion to the overall appearance of the project, not only in terms of func­tion­a­lity but also in terms of design. In combi­na­tion with the freely formed square design and the wide range of exer­cise options, the floo­ring supports the idea of an inclu­sive and flexible outdoor space.

Floor surfaces: Binding agents

A CONICA binding agent system, speci­ally deve­loped for elastic and durable outdoor surfaces, was used to cons­truct the sports floo­ring on the Blue Square. The high-quality poly­ure­thane binders ensure a reliable bond between the EPDM granules and contri­bute signi­fi­cantly to the longe­vity and func­tion­a­lity of the entire surface. They are desi­gned for stable perfor­mance under chan­ging weather condi­tions and support the elas­ti­city, shock absorp­tion and struc­tural stabi­lity of the surface.

In Balzers, a binder was used that reliably retains its proper­ties both during inten­sive sporting use and in ever­yday opera­tion. It thus makes an important tech­nical contri­bu­tion to the imple­men­ta­tion of the project: the freely desi­gned exer­cise land­scape should not only be visually appe­aling, but also remain safe, robust and easy to main­tain in the long term.

The CONICA binder system used helps to ensure that the Blue Square meets the diverse requi­re­ments of an open, inclu­sive and heavily frequented exer­cise area.