Design practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and architect Italo Rota designed a 300ft-tall "tennis tower" that stacks eight tennis courts on top of each other. Designed for RCS Sport, one of the major sport and media companies in Europe, the project utilizes a lightweight steel sandwich structure developed by the company Broad Sustainable Building. Dubbed the "Playscraper", the project includes 60,000 square feet of playing space.
The tennis tower project includes eight courts layered vertically atop one another using BSB’s B-Core slab structure. As CRA outlines, the narrow sides of each structural “box” feature transparent walls with panoramic views. The two long sides incorporate an electronic facade that can stream digital content and sports matches, opening up the tower to engage passerby and those in the surrounding area.
“This project would not just create a new icon for sports lovers,” says architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, founder of CRA and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab. “It also experiments with a new type of public space, extending vertically instead of horizontally. The tower is easy to install and dismantle and can be easily moved. This flexible approach fits the circular nature of today’s sports competitions, which move from location to location throughout the year.”
CRA and Italo Rota worked on the design as part of a larger team of engineers and technical consultants.
News via CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati
