Sport plays an important role in the life of every city, yet the buildings housing these activities pose a particular set of challenges to the architects. Scale and dimensions need to be adapted to allow for unrestricted movement, heights are adjusted to the force of an athlete’s throw, and lighting, surface, and finishes require careful consideration. The matter becomes even more complex if these activities become the center of large-scale events. The flow of people becomes an integral part of the design, as different types of users require separate circulation paths.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights the design of sports centers submitted by the ArchDaily community. From a tennis stadium in Italy, to a yoga pavilion on the cliffs of Portugal, this selection features projects centered around movement, practicing, following, and enjoying sports, be it tennis, baseball, yoga or football. The article presents projects from various counties, such as South Korea, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.
Read on to discover 8 sport-focused projects, along with their descriptions from the architects.
Foro Italico Tennis Stadium
The proposed project remodels the grandstands following the increase in capacity to 12,000 seats. The new roof as a light sheet of paper, with all the slender pillars and emergency stairs, as well as connoting the new architectural aspect of the Central Tennis Stadium, are all part of the entire park project. Through the adjustment of the escape routes, the relationship of the ground attack between the stadium and the park itself has been changed. The design idea aims to enhance the regulatory constraints, converting the presence of a greater number of emergency stairs and escape routes into architectural elements.
Baseball Dream Park
Baseball Dream Park aims to revitalize the old city center and establish a differentiated sports complex. The park was implemented as a new landmark in the old city center by presenting a mass design symbolizing the dynamic image of Daejeon and the soaring spirit of its baseball team. The complex was created as a safe cultural space by separating vehicles and pedestrian pathways. It was planned as an archive hall related to the open-type main hall, which adds the point of differentiation.
Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre
The Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre is conceived as a critical piece of social architecture, leveraging its constrained site and ambitious sustainability goals to create a dynamic and convivial community hub that acts as a ‘connective tissue’ in a rapidly densifying part of the city. The innovative design targets CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standard V2 certification, contributing to the city’s larger 2040 Net Zero Emissions goals.
Metamorphosis Yoga Shala in Portugal
Yanniotis & Associates | Architects & Consulting Engineers
This project is about a Yoga Shala proposal submitted in an International Architecture Competition Call. The site is part of a mountain Yoga Retreat Complex located in a breathtaking forest region of central Portugal. The new Yoga Shala building is inspired by the Yoga philosophy, being a spiritual practice rather than a physical exercise. The new development, apart from the Shala with an atrium space, consists of the Teahouse cave volume. Both buildings are framed by biomorphic xeriscaping garden islands, curvilinear walking concrete stone paths, and cultivation activity levels.
The Tennis Temple
A paper stadium creates a landmark thanks to a sculpture made of folds, an origami building that is a metaphor for lightness and elegance. White paper, like the white travertine, is the true protagonist of the monumental complex of the “Foro Italico.” A peristyle that recalls the spirit of the place, a tennis temple, a sequence of white elements, a reminder of rationalist architecture, order, and drama of the strong contrasts between light and shadows.
Parque Urbano Y Museo Nacional Del Futbol en Avellaneda, Buenos Aires
A new connectivity axis is created from the City by linking two existing streets and an underpass. A park is proposed along the entire assigned lot, freely housing the social functions: public and private of the program. The Museum is made up of two interactive spaces linked by independent accesses that allow a dynamic tour. “An Exhibitor Tunnel and six interactive Boxes.”
Abrigo de Jardim
LMTLS (Daeho Lee, Beomki Lee, Jaeyual Lee)
Abrigo de Jardim takes inspiration from the valley of Oleiros region with its fluctuating topography. Taking cues from the existing yoga shala and bucolic gardens at the retreat, we focused on “casual and comfortable” places near the sites - intimate outdoor spaces with a humble shading structure. With its warm atmosphere, the boundary between the inside and outside is blurred to create a pleasant ambiguity of openness and closeness. We find the uncertainty of indoor and outdoor definition intriguing as an element for relaxation to fully immerse oneself in nature, and we believe that is the spirit of the place for yoga.
Sports and Recreation Complex
The building of the sports and recreation complex is a rectangular volume with a characteristic active horizontal accent - a cantilever extension and a dynamic inclination of the wall planes from the side of the main entrance to the building.
HOW TO SUBMIT AN UNBUILT PROJECT
We highly appreciate the input from our readers and are always happy to see more projects designed by them. If you have an Unbuilt project to submit, click here and follow the guidelines. Our curators will review your submission and get back to you in case it is selected for a feature.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on December 01, 2022.
