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Architects: JPAM, Masala Consultors
- Area: 4500 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Jordi Surroca
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Manufacturers: Europerfil
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Lead Architects: JPAM - Jorge Perea, Amado Martín, Samuel Llovet + MASALA
Text description provided by the architects. The Barcelona-based architecture and urban planning studio JPAM, – formed by Jorge Perea, Amado Martín, and Samuel Llovet– together with Masala Consultors were commissioned to design the Sports Complex Courts and Canopy in the municipality of Pallejá. They approached the project with a comprehensive vision and to give character, coherence, and spatial clarity to the complex.
In its origins, the Sports Complex evolved in a disjointed way to cope with the demands of an expanding program. Faced with this context, the architects reorganized the sports courts, following a strategy that resembled the layout of a checkerboard. The use of color in the flooring was a solution that helped to unify the various uses within the complex, encompassing both the spaces intended for sports activities and those designated for spectators.
To maintain its open condition and the continuity of the space, it was decided to cover the multi-sports court without completely enclosing it on any of its sides, each one treated in a precise manner with its surroundings. The canopy thus stands out for its weightlessness: the ensemble of white metallic elements is supported by two concrete screens strategically placed to free up the corners, and by steel pillars on the front and back façades." By material contrast, the structure seems to rest effortlessly on top of the supports; it almost floats," explain Jorge Perea, Amado Martín and Samuel Llovet, architects at JPAM.
The façades are formed by translucent flaps cut at different heights to create an exceptional envelope with a double reading: from the outside, it appears as an abstract and solid volume, and in return, when entering beneath its shelter, it allows the profile of the urban environment and the passage of natural light to filter through.
The inclination of the roof plane means that towards the street the volume minimizes the visual impact with a discreet height, taking its maximum height towards the front, where it opens up to the landscape, framing the views of the sports activity and the surrounding landscape of the Llobregat Valley.
At night, the interior lighting transforms the perception of the complex from the city. "The interior light is an attraction, it allows the city to be part of the activity that takes place inside, and at the same time it shows the structure clearly and lightly", JPAM points out. The canopy becomes an identifying element that redefines the urban landscape of Pallejá.
