triple sport centre, estavayer-le-lac, competition

client :

municipality of estavayer-le-lac

programme :

triple sport hall, 8 changing rooms, infirmary, services

dates :

competition juin 2007

collaboration :

virdis architecture, fribourg

françois meyer architecture, sion

civil engineer :

gvh st-blaise sa, st-blaise (ne)

hvac engineer :

tecnoservice engineering sa, marin (ne)

general contracting :

bernasconi & cie sa, les geneveys-sur-coffrance (ne)

the site of the new sports hall is characterised by the presence of the school complex, a wooded site in which buildings with a pavilion-type architecture are located. by the nature of its arrangement and volume, the sports project completes and finalises the school complex.

functionally, the entrance to the hall and the subdivisions of the space guarantee maximum flexibility and optimum use of the hall for both school and outside activities.

the typology developed here, together with the absence of vertical loadbearing elements give the foyer and tiered seating an uninterrupted view over the playing area. this arrangement enables the hall to be used for all kinds of events and ensures that it functions optimally regardless of the number of spectators. the interior arrangement is simple and functional. viewed from outside, the folded roof contributes to the identity of the sports hall. from inside, the hall’s ceiling is designed to resemble a bony skeleton. the series of timber beams, with varying angles of inclination in each room, softens the folds of the roof, transforming them into a sensitive, almost skeletal, undulation.

used both structurally and as cladding, the timber is outstanding for its ecological qualities and technical properties which enable the structure to be completed rapidly and economically. the façade of roughcast concrete was designed as a response to the mineral character of the typical structures of the surrounding area and of the school buildings.