Municipal Sports Hall in Nitra

The building of the sports hall is located on the edge between a socialist housing estate and a residential area of family homes, in the midst of a newly forming sports complex, on an elevation near an old cherry orchard.

The concept of the sports hall's design is based on a simple division of operations into three logical units, which are enveloped in dynamically (sporty) tuned exteriors of interlinked masses. The handling of volumes, openings, proportions, as well as the external color scheme, is influenced by the works of Neo Rauch, a representative of the Leipzig School of Painting, who reinterprets his socialist experience through his art. Such a hypertextual use of language in the housing environment connects shared past experiences.

Layout solution: in the two-story service part, there are: entrance areas for spectators and athletes and staff, changing rooms for professionals, referees, amateurs, and spectators, additional recovery areas, an office, a meeting room, squash courts, a climbing wall, VIP areas, a technical block, a café, a staircase in the professional players’ section (changing rooms for guests and home teams separated horizontally) and a staircase for spectators. In the multipurpose hall, the entrance for spectators is resolved from the 1st floor leading around the perimeter on a walkway, and in the corners upward into the space above their heads. The multipurpose hall is accessible from the 2nd floor of the service part, housing a fitness center and a warm-up gym.

Material solution: foundation: piles; load-bearing system: hall section - steel system, service section: reinforced concrete skeleton, multipurpose hall: steel spatial structure resting on steel columns, external shell: sandwich panels, infill of openings: aluminum, floors: linoleum, sports flooring, floating on rubber pads with underfloor heating.

The interior design of the hall space is based on the fact that it is an area intended for sports, where athletes and spectators familiar with current trends come. The internal color scheme is in dialogue with the external colors as well as the products of sports brands. The dynamic positioning of the spectator seating (placing corner stands) reflects the fact that the audience area, in the case of live television broadcasts, becomes an object of camera interest, just like the action on the playing field. The space under the stands is used for storage and as an intake chamber for the ventilation system.

The organization of windows in the main hall follows the predominant movement during sports activities; the high windows indicate that it is a high single-story space. The infill in these windows is made of hollow lexan to prevent blinding athletes with direct sunlight.

Awards: nomination for the ARCH Award 2008, nomination for CE.ZA.AR 2008, nomination for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 2009