The project developed by Onze04 takes advantage of a pedestrian walkway on the site to introduce it on two levels. On the upper level, the walkway intersects the project from the outside, and on the lower level, a double access from the walkway provides direct access to the pavilion and the social area of the complex.
This complex is conceived as a sober and elegant white volume topped with a textile roof composed of pronounced quadric curves. The interior space aims to be spacious and continuous. To achieve this, a wooden structure with pillars built around the perimeter and large beams covering a single span beneath which the main space is located has been used. Furthermore, it is designed to be a permeable building that can receive a large amount of light during the day and emit it at night.
Sports And Cultural Center Marie-Jose Perec And Josephine Baker by Onze04. Photograph by Juan Cardona.
Project description by Onze04
Context.
The town of la bouëxiere wants to create a major cultural, sports and educational centre, capable of allowing national sports competitions, events and seminars combining work spaces, sports and cultural activities.
The chosen site is in immediate continuity with the existing sports, school and cultural facilities in the commune: the charles tillon school, the andre blandin stadium, the pierre de coubertin sports complex, the bmx track in the bois de menouvel and the andre blot cultural centre. in addition, the plot to the south-west is proposed as a future site for a public secondary school.
Integrating The Building Into The Site.
The location of the project was guided by two key considerations:
1.-Urban connections
In order to enable the development of future connections within its territory, the local authority has included in its Urban Plan a reserved area for the creation of a footpath between the André Blot hall and the ‘L'Orée du Bois’ Housing Zone, on the south-east of the plot.
However, all the existing facilities are located to the north-west of the plot, in front of the two existing halls (André Blandin stadium and Pierre de Coubertin complex).
We propose to move the location of this path to the northorth, so that it becomes a structuring axis around which the existing and future facilities are organised.
2.- Double pedestrian walkway.
This new axis, which will connect the ‘L'Orée du Bois’ housing estate and the BMX track with the existing facilities and the future secondary school, passes through the new sports hall project on two levels. On the upper level, the promenade crosses the project from the outside; on the lower level, a double access from the promenade provides direct access to the hall and the facility's social area.
To make this happen, the project is split into two distinct volumes: the multi-sports hall and the squash and dance hall. Connected by the hall on the lower level, they can still be crossed by the promenade on the upper level.
This promenade ends in front of the existing facilities. It takes the form of a generous forecourt around which all the facilities converge, and embodies the place where the diverse public can meet and interact.
The sports hall is located at the north of this double promenade, generating the principal façade of the complex and bringing a upper acces directly to the tribunes from the public walkway. This promenade takes the form of an outdoor belvedere overlooking the hole sports hall.
Materiality.
The new sports complex will sit alongside two existing facilities. It must therefore embody the renewal of the sports and cultural hub as a whole complex, to become a strong landmark in the municipality.
The proposed project moves away from the conventional image of traditional sports halls and their standard “shoebox” shape. a fine and delicate work has been carried out to create a sober, elegant volume, where the white textile roof rises towards the sky, like the tops of the surrounding trees.
At night, the roof and side walls, also in white textile, transform it into a backlit lantern.
