Space for movement

Sporting challenges require innovative solutions

Here, life pulses: children enjoy the water, recreational athletes meet their teammates, and professionals break personal records. Sports facilities are central places for social interaction and promote play and fun.

In these environments, wood can fully showcase its advantages as a sustainable building material in its aesthetic diversity. This renewable resource binds CO₂ , becoming a team player that creates a healthy atmosphere in sports facilities.

Sports Halls

Timber creates large spaces

Large spans, ideal lighting conditions, and compatibility with building services and specific installations for various sports—sports hall roof structures face many simultaneous requirements. Wooden load-bearing structures provide the right solution; they have a slim appearance and can accommodate large spans for skylights, ventilation systems, lighting, and technical installations. The atmosphere of a wooden sports hall is welcoming, bright, and exudes a pleasant spatial feeling.

Germany’s capital, Berlin, has realized nine triple sports halls at various school locations throughout the city as prototype sports halls. Their serial design allows for easy adaptation to local conditions while being economically viable due to the repeatability factor, enabling swift construction.

Sustainability was also a focus in the construction of the tennis centre in Cergy-Pontoise, France. A wooden load-bearing structure, wooden facades, and wooden sunshade slats shape the inviting appearance of the sports hall. Due to effective thermal insulation, the building has a low energy requirement and provides athletes with a comfortable training atmosphere.

The Raiffeisen Sports Park in Graz, Austria, was awarded the Wood Construction Prize Styria in 2019 in the “Structural Timber Construction” category. Its centerpiece is a modern multi-sport hall, supported by 28 glued laminated timber beams.

In Sentjernej, Slovenia, we will begin construction in autumn 2024 on a school sports hall that will also serve as a venue for the community outside school hours.

The new sports campus of the Technical University of Munich in Munich’s Olympic Park is among the largest wooden buildings in Europe. Besides an impressive space programme for central university sports and sports and health sciences, the prominent feature of this modern sports complex is the extensively cantilevered roof. It covers the 100-meter track and is a masterpiece of engineered timber construction, measuring nearly 150 meters in length with a free cantilever of about 18 meters.

Aquatic Centres

Models of Sustainability

Wooden structures have proven themselves for decades in swimming pool environments: wood is much more resilient than other building materials against aggressive climates, such as those found in chlorinated pools. The wooden beams are sized according to humidity class and requirements, creating a natural atmosphere for water sports.

For example, the impressive wooden ceiling of the award-winning and 6 Star Green Star Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre in Darebin. As a fully solar-powered swimming centre, it is regarded as the most environmentally friendly in Australia. The ceiling was pre-assembled with insulation, allowing the wooden structure to be completely erected in just two months.

For the water areas of the Batemans Bay Aquatic & Arts Leisure Centre in Australia, we used over 163 m³ of glued laminated spruce with a maximum span of 33 meters.

At the René Guibert Nautical Centre in Pertuis, we implemented over 140 m³ of glued laminated and solid wood to create the framework of the indoor pool, ensuring both lightness and robustness for the structure.

Stadiums

Impressive Cantilever Roofs for Stands

Large cantilevers are also very common in stadiums, primarily for covering the stands rather than for interior spaces like gyms and swimming pools. Being a lightweight material, wood allows for spans of up to 30 meters. The limited weight of the material also benefits the sizing of the foundations.

In Australia, the cantilevered roof of the Eric Tweedale Stadium in Cumberland is one of the largest in the country. It won the first prize at the Australian Timber Design Awards 2021. The jury particularly appreciated the warm atmosphere and the interplay of natural light created by the structure.

The roof covering the football stand, along with the other buildings at the Saint-Pierre-du-Perray Sports Park, perfectly illustrates that wood is an ideal material for addressing the challenges posed by large dimensions and compatibility with the technical equipment specific to each sport in this project.