Dutch architectural office VenhoevenCS with its French partner Ateliers 2/3/4/ have won the competition to design the Aquatics Centre for the Olympics Games of 2024 in Paris. The innovative sports center, connected by a new pedestrian bridge to the existing “Stade de France”, will host competitions for water polo, diving, and synchronized swimming. It will also be transformed into a Boccia stadium during the Paralympics. Designed for multifunctional use, the only building to be built for the Games, will remain for the people in Saint-Denis, after the event.
Located in one of the most problematic neighborhoods in France, the project is “an important investment in the future of Saint-Denis”. Comprising also of green public space and a new bridge that connects the stadium with the “Stade de France”, the largest stadium in France, the project will lead to a building that offers an innovative and monumental Aquatics center to the people in Saint-Denis: a place to learn how to swim, to practice sports, to relax and meet. Moreover, this proposal also creates a connection, with the new heart of the future Eco neighborhood of La Plaine Saulnier.
In collaboration with Bouygues Batiment Ile de France, Récréa, Dalkia and the client Métropole du Grand Paris, the winning proposal features a wooden roof, “a suspended shape with minimal construction height that strictly follows the required minimum space for tribunes, people and sightlines, thereby minimizing the amount of air that needs to be conditioned during the coming 50 years”. Doubling the required minimum percentage of bio-sourced materials, the project can host up to 5000 spectators around the multifunctional competition pool.
Showcasing“how sustainable design concepts can lead to a new architecture, one that contributes to improving the quality of life in our cities”, the plan goes beyond environmental regulations and requirements, creating a livable and healthy city district for the people in Saint-Denis. Inspired by nature, VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4/ generated space for one hundred trees that will be planted to improve the quality of life and air, stimulate biodiversity, and create new ecological connections.
Taking on the energy challenge, the project puts in place a smart energy system, where 90% of the needed energy can be provided with renewable or recovered energy. In fact, “the solar roof will be one of the biggest solar farms of France and will cover 25% of all required electricity production, which is the equivalent of the electric power use of 200 households”, and the water system re-uses 50% of the remaining water. Finally, other design criteria include upcycling, with furniture made out of wood waste coming from the construction site, and tribune chairs made out of 100% recycled plastic collected from schools in Saint-Denis.
Aquatics Centre Paris 2024
- Location: 361 avenue du Président Wilson, 93200 Saint-Denis, Paris
- Program: For the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Olympic pool hosting the diving, water polo, and synchronized swimming competitions. For the Paralympic Games 2024: Boccia stadium After the Olympic games: a public facility with a 50m pool, a diving pool, a 25m learning pool, a multipurpose pool, aqua-kids area. When organizing level 1 to 4 competitions: 2500 fixed seats and 2500 temporary seats. Boulder gym, restaurant, 3x3 basketball, fitness, 5x5 football
- Floor area: approx. 20.000 m2
- Completion: 2024 for the Olympic committee
- Open to the general public: Summer 2025
- Client: Métropole du Grand Paris
- Architects: VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism, Amsterdam, Ateliers 2/3/4/, Paris
- Project partners: Cécilia Gross and Laure Mériaud
- Project managers: Yves de Pommereau, Tjeerd Hellinga, Julie Fuchs
- Landscape architect: Ateliers 2/3/4/
- Project managers: Arnaud Talon and Clément Arnaud
- Main contractor: Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France
- Operations: Récréa
- Maintenance: Dalkia
- Structural engineer: SBP Schlaich Bergermann partner
- MEP: INEX
- Water treatment: Katène
- Acoustic consultant: Peutz
- Sustainability consultant: Inddigo
- Economist: Mazet & Associés
- Security consultant: CSD & Associés
