SPORT CENTRE

NKE Sport Centre design competition

Architecture Erzsébet Mészáros, János Szepesi

Location  Budapest, Hungary

Area 20,000 m2 

 

Year  2012

Access to the swimming competition hall and to the audience area is from the upstairs gallery of the central lobby. On the ground floor of the lobby there are cloakrooms, restrooms and shops, while the cafeteria has a terrace overlooking the park and the lake. The aula also places the press centre which can be opened together with the cafeteria's dining area.

The one-side tribune of the competition hall can be used for other events and can provide steady view to the mobile stage. Above the tribune several rooms for broadcasting and technical services have been created.

There was a need for a warm-up hall. In an effort to keep the design compact, the blocks of changing rooms were placed between the two halls. The sports equipment storage areas were located in the "fence wall" zone. The mechanical rooms that serve the two halls are located on the level above the changing rooms, thus saving a large part of the mechanical equipment. Internal air courts have been created between the mechanical rooms, so fresh air is not drawn in and exhausted directly from the façade, thus providing a better noise and visual impact. The fitness room faces the park.

 The rear operating zone is accessed from the service entrance. On the ground floor there are warehouses, workshops, electrical reception rooms, and offices on the first floor.

There are separate entrances for the visitors and athletes' blocks of changing rooms. The wellness area overlooks the park. The massage rooms open from the reception. Access to the other functions is via the pool area, separated by a gate. Access to the plumbing rooms on the basement level is from the reception. On the upper floor, next to the tribune, there are mechanical spaces on two sides that serve the swimming pool and the lobby.

The halls are lit by natural light from above, from the north. The skylights are placed between the supporting beams. In the south direction, they alternate with solid surfaces in zigzag form, on which solar panels and solar collectors can be placed. An additional renewable energy solution is provided by a ground source heat pump, with mechanical rooms located under the tribune of the competition hall.

The basic form of the building is formed by the halls with vertical divided copper cladding, complemented by the ground floor service lanes with monolithic impregnated fairfaced concrete bark cladding. In the choice of materials durability and noble finishes were important factors to consider. The office lane upstairs is clad with openable expanded copper sheeting.