sb 6/2022 (english)

Photo Stadion Beijing: © Arup, Chris Dite

The Professionals of Irrigation made in Germany

75 Years!

Born

Sports facility construction is our passion. Collaborative, digital - and therefore time and cost efficient - project management is the focus of our overall process. We use LEAN planning methodology to set up your projects, always using the latest technology and BIM methods to optimise design and construction processes. We don’t just think about tomorrow, we focus on the distant future: We make our buildings sustainable, efficient and with a high well-being factor.

in 1947 in The Netherlands, indispensable in Belgian sports construction since 55 years, German sports hall champion for 50 years and last but not least: 38 years of successful sports activities in Great Britain.

Editorial

DEAR IAKS MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF SB,

The IAKS can look back on a year of many at tractive events. On the international level, the study trip to Vancouver was certainly the high light. Those taking part were able to take home much inspiration from the Canadian community centres and the discussions with experts from all over the world. In addition, we held international conferences on pools (Norway), open spaces for physical exercise (Denmark), sports halls (Neth erlands) and artificial ice rinks (Germany). Our sections were also very busy this year, with both in-person events and various online formats.

Now that we seem to have overcome the COVID pandemic, the energy crisis has arrived, increas ing the pressure for an energy turnaround. That is why the article by IAKS pool expert Taio Wald haus from Canada in this issue of “sb”, describing the change to fossil-free technology at pools in British Columbia, is so timely. We have already seen working examples of this in Vancouver. For further inspiration, take a look at the pools and outdoor exercise spaces in Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland presented in this “sb”.

In the coming year, the IAKS will again be or ganising many interesting events, which you should make a note of in your calendar. The IAKS study trip will take us to Tokyo on 27/28 June and to sports venues exhibiting everything from high-tech, traditional and Olympic to iconic architecture.

The IAKS Congress and FSB in Cologne will be taking place from 24-27 October 2023 in tandem with aquanale and the International Swimming

Pool and Wellness Forum. Don’t miss these flagship global events for public space, sports and leisure facilities and for saunas, pools and ambience. I am already looking forward to meet ing many of you in person again in Cologne.

During this “Cologne Week”, the IOC IPC IAKS Architecture Prizes will be presented at our Awards Gala. From the small innovative facility to the sustainable arena – let yourself be inspired by creative designers and bold builders!

Our sections will also be holding many events next year. You can find an overview of all IAKS activities worldwide in our event calendar on our homepage.

Allow me to take this opportunity to thank all those who are actively involved in the IAKS. Their tremendous voluntary commitment to our sports and leisure facilities is both an incentive and an inspiration for us, and it underlines the IAKS’ non-profit mission for the exchange of expertise and networking on the global scale.

Now I wish you an informative read of “sb”, an enjoyable Festive Season and a happy and healthy 2023!

regards

Dr Stefan Kannewischer IAKS President

Best

Photo: Uwe Ditz

ACTIVE COMMUNITIES

PROJECTS

Rurbad in Düren 24 KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure

Modernisation and extension of Bad Wimpfen brine pool 30 4a Architekten

Bocconi Sport Centre in Milan 34 SANAA

Sports and leisure facility in Loxstedt 38 Planungsbüro G. & L. Hoppe

Regeneration

Sportpark Styrum in Mülheim

Pool facility in Appenzell

Peter Moor Architekten

Bogaardplein urban park in Rijswijk

DELVA Landscape Architects

PROJECTS

Playing field at “Marija i Lina” elementary school in Umag 56 Studio Marić Gigantium urban space in Aalborg

EXCELLENT NETWORKING AT WORLD - CLASS STADIUM

IAKS UK EVENT AND TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM TOUR ON 22 NOVEMBER 2022

Tom Jones, IAKS Vice President and Senior Principal at Populous, welcomed the 80 delegates to the Totten ham Hotspur stadium for what he hoped would be an informative and interesting day of seminars and building tours. He was particularly grateful for the effort made by international IAKS members and delegates who had travelled from Argentina, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, and Spain to join the event. The perfect occasion to mix with experts from the UK and exchange thoughts on an interdisciplinary level.

Jon Babbs, Stadium Director at Tottenham Hotspur, also extended a welcome to the group and gave a brief overview of his role at the stadium. The opening keynote presentation on building performance analysis was given by Malcolm Cook, Professor of Building Performance Analysis at Lough borough University, who presented some case studies of naturally ventilated public buildings and highlighted the im portance of control systems and proper commissioning.

The panel discussion focusing on innovation in stadium op erations with Jon Babbs and Sander van Stiphout, Director International at Johan Cruijff ArenA, included observations around transitions in multi-purpose stadiums, the impor tance of creating meaningful memories at events and the implementation of new sustainability initiatives. Sander also discussed the path for Johan Cruijff ArenA to achieve a net positive status by 2030.

The next panel was moderated by Mike Hall, Partner at FaulknerBrowns, and looked at innovation in the design of sustainability facilities in more detail. Tom deBoeck, Assis tant Director at Hoare Lea, presented some of the motiva tions behind delivering sustainable design, while Mark Palmer, Director at Max Fordham, looked at the opportunities to reduce both embodied energy and oper ational energy. Irina Korneychuk, Senior Associate at FaulknerBrowns, then shared some of the significant challenges in achieving the 50 % reduction in carbon by 2030 and the life cycle of building layers.

After lunch, delegates were taken on an extensive tour of the stadium, which included a chance to view the moving pitch in more detail, explore the range of general admis sion concourses and hospitality spaces around the stadium and take a look at the NFL home locker room.

Photos: IAKS

View picture gallery!

The final panel of the day focused on current challenges in the sports and leisure industry and was moderated by Peter Curtis, Director at Hadron Consulting. Tom Pinnington, Di rector at The Sports Consultancy, discussed some of the challenges faced by new developments, including the impact of rising energy costs. Ed Hunt, Facilities and Plan ning Manager at England Athletics, presented a new initia tive in helping clubs to develop next-generation facilities, including the integration of athletics tracks with other sports facilities. Tony Wallace, Regional Director at GLL, completed the discussion with a summary of the vulnerabil ities in the sector and ways in which facilities will have to adapt to continue providing an excellent service to users.

Mike Hall and Tom Jones brought the event to a close with an open offer to delegates to engage with future IAKS ef forts in the UK, including plans for future building visits and seminars. With the IAKS UK spring event in 2019 (at the

www.iaks.sport/uk

was great to hear about some of the challenges faced by the sector, and more importantly how we are rising to those challenges. It was good to see friends and colleagues, both old and new, in this inspiring setting.”

Paul Reed Associate Director GT3 Architects,

UK

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park), two webinars in 2021, and the IAKS UK spring event in May 2022 (in Birmingham), the Tottenham seminar & tour was the fifth event hosted by the IAKS UK team. More to come!

“It

2023 IAKS STUDY TRIP TO TOKYO, JAPAN

27/28 JUNE 2023

The IAKS Study Trip to Tokyo, Japan is officially scheduled to take place on 27 and 28 June 2023, the first for the last 35 years (the last study trip to Japan was in 1988). The agenda includes visits to six high-calibre sports and leisure facilities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, including the innovative and traditional facilities of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with its typically Japanese features.

In the same way as the past study trips in 2018 (Copenha gen, Denmark), 2019 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2022 (Van couver, Canada), the IAKS Study Trip 2023 promises memorable experiences with abundant background infor mation, exclusive insights and international networking.

Visit these facilities and meet their managers and operators:

• National (Olympic) Stadium (2020 Tokyo Olympic Stadi um by architect Kengo Kuma)

• Tokyo Metropolitan Sports Hall and Swimming Pool (multi-functional sports facilities on the municipal scale by Pritzker prize winning architect Fumihiko Maki)

• ASICS Sports Complex (high-level innovative training facility)

• State-of-the-art athletic field (para-sports running track with wooden structure)

• National Yoyogi Gymnasium (1964 Tokyo Olympic legacy facility by Pritzker prize winning architect Kenzo Tange)

• Budo Facility at the Meiji Shrine (traditional Japanese judo, kendo and archery practised in the forest of the Meiji Shrine)

Participation will include a two-day tour with a coach and tour guide, lunch on both days and a networking dinner on the first night. Participants are requested to arrange their travel to Tokyo individually; the option to extend one’s stay is available.

Join this unique occasion to meet professionals from the in ternational and Japanese sphere!

More information on www.iaks.sport

Photo: Prof. Dr Takanori Fukuoka

IAKS CONGRESS AND FSB IN COLOGNE, GERMANY 24-27 OCT 2023

GLOBAL TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN SPORTS AND LEISURE FACILITIES

In October 2023 it’s “Curtain up!” for the 28th IAKS Congress – the foremost international forum for the design, construction, financing and management of sports and leisure facilities. From 24-27 October 2023, experts from all over the world will be meeting for an exciting exchange of views on new approaches and strategies. The preparations for FSB 2023 are also well underway.

The internationally acclaimed IAKS Congress will be held concurrently with the leading trade fair duo of FSB – Inter national Trade Fair for Public Space, Sports and Leisure Fa cilities, and aquanale – International Trade Fair for Sauna. Pool.Ambience. The IAKS Congress is expected to attract around 500 participants from 40 countries, who will ex change forward-looking ideas and discuss solutions to the urgent challenges facing the sports facility development in dustry over the course of four days.

The first main topics of the congress have already been identified: the social function of sports and leisure facilities, methods and tools for measuring the public value of sports and exercise, financing and support programmes, carbon footprint of infrastructure, and the UN SDGs. It‘s all about open spaces, schoolyards, sports halls, indoor leisure cen tres, multifunctional arenas and stadiums.

Your suggestions for topics please! Look forward to exciting panel discussions, lectures and workshops. Find out at first hand which trends in

architecture and management are currently high on the list and will be in the future. Help plan the congress pro gramme and put forward your ideas for lectures and panel discussions to the IAKS!

Excellent number of registrations for FSB 2023

Twelve months before the opening of the sector’s leading trade fair, the FSB organisers are already reporting a high level of registrations, including many companies that were unable to participate in 2021 due to the pandemic. The early-bird discount for FSB is available until 31 January 2023. Interested companies still have until then to secure the benefits offered.

Congresses and conferences at FSB 2023

In addition to the international IAKS Congress, other part ner associations will be preparing attractive training cours es and lecture programmes for FSB 2023. The first key topics for the three core segments of amenity areas, and sports and exercise facilities are to be announced at the beginning of the coming year.

The Sport theme world at FSB 2023 will focus its attention on sustainability and recycling, energy efficiency, use of re sources and supply chains, and the funding of indoor and outdoor sports facilities and equipment.

In the Public Spaces theme world, the event will focus on how to activate these outdoor areas for exercise activities, the funding of green spaces and public facilities, and school as a place for physical activity. One of the theme world’s highlights will be the BDLA NRW Day.

For the fourth time, Koelnmesse and the Sportstättenrech ner online cost calculator for sports facilities will initiate the Sportnetzwerk@FSB networking area. This is where deci sion makers from clubs, stadiums and local authorities can meet leading companies from the sports facilities industry. Once again in 2023, the PlanerFORUM, jointly hosted with STADTundRAUM, will provide a comprehensive information platform for architects, planners, landscape architects and officers from local authorities.

www.iaks.sport www.fsb-cologne.com

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CONNECTING, GAMIFYING MOVEMENT AND MAXIMIZING WELLBEING

UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND WAIPAPA TAUMATA RAU RECREATION + WELLNESS CENTRE

The Recreation and Wellness Centre (RWC) will be a 9-storey complex serving the recreational needs for University of Auckland’s -Waipapa Taumata Rau – 40,000 students – located at the heart of the student and science precinct. The new 22,000 m² facility will house three large volumes: a 1,500-seat event sports hall, a practice sports hall, and an aquatics hall, along with associated fitness, studios, squash, and social spaces.

The architectural design focuses on a massing strategy with extensive canopies at grade to mitigate solar heat gain as well high-performance cladding geared to maximize views while reducing heat load. Auckland-Tāmaki Makaurau is generally a temperate climate with little need for cooling loads.

Split, stack, and alternate Raising the sports halls and placing the aquatic hall below grade frees the ground plane and allows for fluid move ment through the site and the creation of a new symbolic student plaza. As one rises from street level to roof running track, a major program volume occurs at each level. These venues are alternated on either side of a central fitness core in order to optimize user participation and engagement.

Unify the student precinct Clerestory glazing above the pool hall connects swimmer and pedestrian, while views to the RWC’s fitness stair and upper running track further animate and connect indoor and outdoor activities – welcoming the uninitiated. Clear ance over the diving board forms an island “land-form” as the focal point of the plaza and symbol of the region’s ancient topography.

Maximize well-being

The upper roof offers an outdoor running track, program mable fitness space, and elevated views to Auckland and its majestic harbor. Students who do not identify with „athlet ics or recreation“ are welcomed to participate through de liberately integrated social, leisure and outreach spaces at all levels, including a café, retail, therapy, napping pods, table tennis, soft seating, and touch-down spaces that create estuarial gateways to the larger sport spaces throughout the building.

Gamify movement with a vibrant core

Vibrant and vertical movement is the building’s fitness and social animator. A key design approach is to reduce the stair count to two, optimizing them to deliver multiple functions: emergency exits, fitness loop, social convener, and daylight providers. 3-m wide stairs and smart building technology provide a “gamified” fitness circuit interlinking leisure and wellness spaces on each level, linking indoor and rooftop tracks to form a continuous 500-m vertical fit ness circuit.

www.mjma.ca & www.warrenandmahoney.com

Renderings: MJMA, Warren & Mahoney

Double experience

For more than half a century, Hamberger has been developing and producing one of the most important pieces of sports equipment: the flooring. HARO’s Protect Light, the new generation of area elastic protective walls, sets new benchmarks once again.

All-in-one solutions for sports and multi-purpose halls that exceed all current standards, guarantee to comply with official regulations and also allow a fast and cost effective installation, are now possible. That’s for sure!

RENATURATION, BATHING AND LOUNGING/LOVING BATHING LANDSCAPE IN

SCHWELM, GERMANY

Around 1.5 kilometres from the town centre, the municipality of Schwelm is planning a new bathing complex that will concentrate the outdoor and indoor pools in one place and exploit operational and architectural synergies. Transparency and naturalness are the distinctive features of the mostly single-storey structure on a topographically varied terrain. A delicate wooden structure frames floor-to-ceiling window elements.

The ascending, green and walkable roof is defined as a fifth façade and in this way becomes an essential component of a new park landscape. The building takes account of the heights required for different areas, such as the diving tower, and uses these as special design features in the shaping of the building. The load-bearing structure of the almost transparent building consists of glulam columns, a ceiling of wooden elements and glulam trusses. The wood en roof structure is visible both inside and out.

Sustainability strategy

Merging the building structure with the building services equipment could pave the way to carbon neutrality. The possibilities outlined in the concept include, among others, the following: room partitioning according to usage tem perature, ventilation systems with highly efficient heat re covery, demand-based water treatment technology, day light-dependent lighting control, and the use of solar col lectors, photovoltaics and biomass boilers.

Renderings: pbr

Development of a public park landscape

The new Schwelmebad pool facility faces the street via an inviting glazed foyer, which offers a view of the landscape beyond the pool across the pool deck in the interior. The public forecourt outside the main entrance, with its Schwelme terraces and direct access to the Schwelme stream, as well as the publicly accessible catering facilities, is a high-quality amenity.

Along the Schwelme stream, there are plans for an educa tional trail and a knowledge lens to offer not only bathers, but also walkers and school classes a place to linger and find out more. For the so-called knowledge lens, the diving tower of the existing pool will be recycled and repurposed.

The open space is divided into zones with different func tions, such as „renaturation“, „bathing“ and „lounging/ loving“. Around the outdoor pools (brine pool and non-swimmers‘ pool) are the sunbathing lawn for bathers and a beach volleyball court for sporting activities. Seating elements of wood will be integrated in steps into the slope and encourage communication and contemplation. The new park landscape will be accessible not only to bathers but also to the public all year round. www.pbr.de

NEW TO THE IAKS NETWORK

STANTEC ARCHITECTURE, CALGARY (CANADA)

Stantec strives to be more than just a group of engineers, architects, and landscape architects. We’re athletes, com petitors, fans and leisure recreators who bring together our diverse backgrounds in sports and recreation to success fully take on challenges of any size and scope. We work in interdisciplinary teams with our clients to deliver worldclass sports and recreation facilities for communities and organizations of all sizes and demographics. From Ameri ca’s football fields to cricket pitches in India, from swimming pools to ice rinks, from the municipal level, collegiate level to the professional leagues, from human-powered compe titions to motor-powered races - Stantec plans and designs all facets of facilities of all scales. Our team has worked with the NFL, MLB, NHL, CFL, MLS, CIS, and NCAA as well as governments from the municipal to federal level.

www.stantec.com

HEMSÖ, FAGERSTA (SWEDEN)

Hemsö is Sweden‘s leading owner of social infrastruc ture that manages and develops properties for elderly care, education, sports, healthcare and the justice system. With properties located in Sweden, Finland and Germany, Hemsö’s objective is to be a long-term property partner to the public sector. The tenants consist mainly of the state, municipalities and regions, but also of private operators with tax-financed activities. Hemsö owns 25 sports facil ities and has a development pipeline of EUR 700 million for new premises. Hemsö has created an internal committee to gather experience from senior colleagues in the sports segment with Emil Marefat as project lead.

www.hemso.se

SONOBEACON, WISMAR (GERMANY )

SonoBeacon offers intelligent solutions for the current challenges in stadiums & event venues and the areas of smart mobility & smart city; to provide the best possible experience at all touchpoints of the customer/fan journey on event days.

For this purpose, technologies for location-based analytics and services, supported by a patented acoustic commu nication standard and using existing infrastructures, were developed together with the Fraunhofer Institute.

With data that serve as the basis for valid management decisions to improve the economy, security, the customer experience & satisfaction, SonoBeacon drives the digital transformation of its partners cost-effectively and quickly.

www.sonobeacon.com

MUNICIPALITY OF ZURZACH, (SWITZERLAND)

As the largest municipality in the canton of Aargau in terms of area, Zurzach is located on the northern edge of Swit zerland. With slightly less than 8,000 inhabitants, Zurzach is a medium-sized municipality, but it has a large number of facilities for sports and exercise and offers a wide range of activities. More than 70 sports clubs maintain an attractive and diverse club life. In the development of new offers and infrastructures, Zurzach takes a future-oriented approach and - wherever possible - involves the population. The department for exercise, sports and leisure is the direct point of contact for everything concerning these issues.

www.zurzach.ch

CITY VENUE MANAGEMENT, MIAMI (AUSTRALIA)

The City Venue Management operates and manages high-quality, vibrant and well-maintained aquatic, leisure and sporting facilities across South-East Queensland, with each one being a vital community-focused centre that inspires healthy and active lifestyles. The company’s mantra is “we create experiences that delight and engage”. CVM is currently operating 32 venues in Australia‘s „swimming capital“ Queensland, with brands such as Rackley Swim ming. Fish N Flips Swim School, City Aquatics and City Health Clubs.

SPAREBANKSTIFTELSEN, OSLO (NORWAY )

Sparebankstiftelsen DNB is a foundation that manages assets accumulated in former savings banks across Norway. The foundation’s objective is to redistribute dividends from the banking sector into areas of public interest, such as arts, cultural heritage, outdoors recreation and sports. Within the sports and outdoors sector, a special focus is on financing projects of use to the voluntary sector. The main target group is youth between 0-25 years, but the founda tion also engages in facilities and activities which are avail able to a larger portion of the public.

www.cityvenuemanagement.com.au

www.sparebankstiftelsen.no

DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS AND SPORTS PROMOTION, MUNICIPALITY OF KREFELD (GERMANY )

For its roughly 234,000 inhabitants, the municipality of Krefeld provides versatile and varied spaces for exercise for young and old. The Department of Sports and Sports Promotion currently has about 80 employees. Its duties include the operation of 5 swimming pools, 2 ice rinks, 17 district sports facilities and 75 sports halls. Another key task is the modernisation and maintenance of existing sports facility infrastructure, along with the creation of new exer cise opportunities.

POIRIER FONTAINE ARCHITECTES, MONTREAL (CANADA)

Since its inception in 1985, Poirier Fontaine Architectes is an architecture studio based in Montreal specialising in the design of sports installations, particularly public aquatic fa cilities. They believe in the benefits of sports activities and their ability to bring together members of the community. They aim to create sports installations that transcend the basic conformity to building codes and sports standards; aspiring rather to an architecture that elevates the place of sport by way of an ambitious and responsible architecture.

www.krefeld.de

www.pfa.ca

NEW TO THE IAKS NETWORK

ADT INFORMATIONSSYSTEME, SEEFELD (GERMANY )

ADT Informationssysteme GmbH has been focusing on LED lighting systems in all areas since 2010.

High-quality light that not only saves energy but also improves visibility should be financially feasible for all new or refurbished indoor or outdoor sports facilities. ADT thus assists clubs and municipalities with a wide range of prod ucts, e.g. floodlight systems and ISP-tested LED panels, and is happy to work with property developers, architects and electricians.

In addition, ADT is an agent for BERTELÉ electronics with LED strips, video walls and LED video cubes.

www.adt-infosystems.de

LIQUID BLU, BOWEN HILLS (AUSTRALIA)

Liquid Blu is the specialist architect for aquatic environ ments in Australia. Complementary to this, we deliver urban design and architecture for leisure and sporting hubs that become central to community life. Whether as lead con sultant or a team member, we work with councils, govern ment agencies and other design practices nationally.

Pools, surf parks, public lagoons and water-based play scapes - we are leaders in current and emerging aquatic facility trends through our unrivalled experience, enabling design to take precedence over engineering with our tech nical knowledge and deep understanding of specialist sporting codes.

www.liquidblu.com.au

LB LEERANER BADBETRIEBS GMBH, LEER (GERMANY )

The Plytje indoor swimming pool in Leer opened in 2019 and currently employs 22 staff and several trainees. The pool has a competition pool with six 25-metre lanes and with half of the floor height-adjustable, an instruction pool with an entirely height-adjustable floor, an unclothed sauna and a toddlers‘ area with a slide and various play features. The spacious outdoor area also has a beach volleyball court, a boules court, a playground and a barefoot path. Its extensive activities range from beginners‘ swimming courses, baby swimming courses, aqua fitness courses and personal training to special courses such as advanced self-rescue for children. A large number of games and sports events for young and old round off what‘s available.

www.plytje.com

MUNICIPALITY OF ILLNAU EFFRETIKON, SWITZERLAND

The municipality of Illnau-Effretikon is located in the Zurich Oberland between the agglomeration centres of Zurich and Winterthur. It pursues a targeted sports policy that is tailored to the needs of the population, sports clubs and sports organizations and creates the best possible con ditions for practising various sports activities. It provides good and modern sports facilities within the limits of its financial possibilities. Geographically, the city of Illnau-Ef fretikon consists of the urban Effretikon, the villages Illnau, Ottikon, Bisikon and Kyburg and furthermore the agricul tural hamlets Agasul, Bietenholz, Billikon, Brünggen, First, Horben, Luckhausen, Mesikon and Oberkempttal.

www.ilef.ch

EMMANUEL MORALES, SALTA (ARGENTINA)

Emmanuel Morales is a registered architect, with years of experience in projects in the field of commercial, hospi tality, residential, and sports. He completed a diploma in executive architecture and is specializing in project man agement, along with PMI standard.

Lean construction and last planner system philosophy is at the core of Emmanuel’s interest. He seeks to apply these methods to his projects from the initial stage. In his design practice, he carries out tasks such as design, executive project and execution, with great attention to detail and respect to the site and the environment.

BRUNO PLASENCIA, DOHA (QATAR)

Bruno Plasencia is a PMP certified project manager and lawyer. He acts as advisor in legacy topics for the Panamer ican Games and worked as procurement lead for the Lima 2019 Panamerican Games. His professional steps include the Major Events Management Programme with Josoor Institute in Qatar, the IOSH Managing Safely course, and Sports Facilities Management programme at Barça Inno vation Hub. Bruno holds a master in public management and is an experienced advisor with 10+ years of experience.

GRANT GREENWAY, CHELTENHAM (AUSTRALIA)

As the Director of Endeavour Turf Professionals (ETP TURF), Grant Greenway is one of Australia’s leading sports turf and field of play consultants. Managing an elite team of sports field designers, agronomists, scientists and field assis tants, Grant oversees company operations, creates tech nical recommendations and offers high level consultancy across natural turf fields of play and project management, be it sports field designs, turf and construction supervi sion. With over 30 years’ experience within the Australian commercial turf and seed industries, Grant supports the sports and leisure industry with independent, agronomic expertise helping keep Australian sports fields in optimal condition.

WADE MACKRELL, VICTORIA (AUSTRALIA)

Wade Mackrell is a sports and leisure consultant based in Victoria, Australia. With over 25 years’ experience in the sports and recreation industry, he has worked in various management roles in the public, private and not for profit sectors, before starting his career in consulting. Passionate around improving community health, he strives to push the boundaries to make a difference within the industry. Having completed a multitude of projects, Wade has worked with state and local governments, commercial operators, as well as community-based organisations.

GOODBYE TO GAS IN AQUATIC CENTRES

BRITISH COLUMBIA OPENS UP NEW PATHS IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Author Taio Waldhaus (P. Eng, CPHD), Principal, AME Group

Many municipalities in British Columbia, Canada have signed up to the Paris Accord, declared a climate emer gency and made commitments to eliminate carbon emissions from new buildings in the following decade(s). As aquatic centres are among the highest energy-consuming of municipal facilities, efforts have been made in the design and construction of recent aquatic centres to sever the connection to gas infrastructure, resulting in all-electric facilities. Taio Waldhaus takes a look at energy-efficient mechanical systems in aquatic facilities.

British Columbia’s electricity grid is over 90% carbon-free, resulting in very low emissions associated with the electri fied facilities. On-site electricity production, such as pho tovoltaics, to offset the remaining emissions from the grid, results in net-zero carbon emissions to be achieved in new facilities as defined by the Canadian Green Building Coun cil’s standards.

Operating costs typically far outweigh the capital construc tion costs for aquatic centres over their useful life. Gas is much lower in cost than hydro per unit of energy delivered when it comes to heating a building in British Columbia. This results in the need to substantially reduce energy con sumption associated with these facilities when electrifying them. The following passage describes mechanical system design strategies that successfully minimize the energy con sumption of heating and process equipment in the march to remove our dependency on gas in aquatic centres.

Synergy in energy transfer

The primary function of an aquatic centre is to maintain heated pools and hot shower water for bathers. Warm bodies of water constantly release water into the natatori

um air due to evaporation. In order to maintain comfort on the pool deck and protect the building’s envelope from damage due to condensation, the moisture must be removed from the air through dehumidification. The processes associated with these building features create synergy in energy transfer that, when addressed holistically, can result in substantial energy reduction.

Heat pumps are frequently used in buildings to produce heat. They are ideal as they require substantially less energy input than boilers. This is due to the fact that they move heat, rather than generate it as boilers do. This is possible due to the re frigeration cycle. Hot compressed gaseous refrigerant absorbs heat from sources such as the ground (geothermal) or the outside air (aerothermal) that can be transferred while it con denses to building uses such as heating, domestic hot water and pool water.

How to increase the COP Heat pump efficiency is expressed by its Coefficient of Perfor mance (COP). It is a measure of the heat output divided by the electrical energy input. A typical geothermal heat pump operates at a COP of 3, transferring three units of energy from

Heat recovery chillers

The təməsew txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre is currently under construction in New Westminster, British Columbia and will be the first net-zero carbon aquatic centre in Canada as certified by the Canadian Green Building Council. Designed by HCMA Architecture and the AME Consulting Group, it utilizes the technologies described herein and is modelled to produce just 6 kgCO2/y/m² before photovoltaics offset that value to zero.

the source (ground or air) to the load (building) with every one unit of electrical energy input. This is three times the amount of energy output that a boiler produces for the same energy input. Heat pumps can also operate in reverse to provide cooling by transferring heat from a source such as the natatorium air to the sink such as a geothermal field or outside air.

Magic happens when a heat pump is used to provide heat ing and cooling at the same time. The COP doubles. So, if a heat pump is simultaneously dehumidifying the natatorium air, while heating the pool at the same time, it can operate with COPs as high as 6 or 7. This translates into six units of energy provided to the building for every one unit of elec trical energy consumed by the compressors – six times that produced by an electric boiler, which operates with a COP of 1. In order to substantially reduce an electrified aquat ic centre’s energy consumption, as much heat as possible should be provided by a water-to-water heat pump doing simultaneous heating and cooling. Whenever there is a cooling requirement in the building, the heat pump recov ers heat from that process and transfers it to the heating system. Only when heat requirements exceed what can be produced by the heat pump, aerothermal heat pumps and/ or electric boilers can be utilized to produce the remaining required heat.

Taking advantage of simultaneous heating and cooling Modern aquatic facility operators require mechanical cool ing and dehumidification in their natatoriums even in the summer months. In addition, many provide amenity spaces in the facility such as fitness spaces and gymnasiums. These spaces require cooling even in winter months due to the heat generated by active bodies. The result is very good

for a building’s energy system as it allows substantial and prolonged periods of time when advantage can be taken of simultaneous heating and cooling. In my experience, a typical aquatic centre can utilize a water-to-water heat pump for on average one third of its peak heating needs.

In order to maximize the use of the water-to-water heat pump plant, the building’s air systems can be designed with both mechanical and passive exhaust-air heat recov ery. Even with air-to-air heat recovery such as heat recov ery ventilators, warm air is still exhausted from the building to make space for fresh air. By utilizing heat recovery coils in the exhaust air streams, additional heat can be trans ferred from that exhaust air to the building through the heat pump plant. This is particularly advantageous in the natatorium where expelled air is quite warm and moist, containing ample energy. With both forms of heat recov ery, control systems can switch modes depending on the heat profile of the building, maximizing heat production by the heat pump plant.

This is not the end of the energy reduction story in aquatic centres. There are many areas where incremental energy reduction can add up to substantial energy savings for the building. Gravity filtration has proven to reduce pool filtra tion system pumping energy by up to 60%. Sanitary heat recovery systems can capture energy from spent shower water that would otherwise go down the drain. Utilizing heat wheels on natatorium dehumidifiers have been proven to reduce that process’s energy costs by CAD 60,000 per year according to recent building energy models conduct ed on the təməsew txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre. The key is to prevent any energy from exiting the building if it can be re-used within.

Rendering: AME Group

GREAT QUALITY OF STAY FOR ALL USER NEEDS

RURBAD IN DÜREN

Located near the river Rur, the Holzbendenpark is known as „Düren‘s hidden paradise“ and serves as an oasis of recreation for the town’s residents and visitors. As part of the town centre master plan, the municipality of Düren is redesigning this green space, inclusive of a new entrance to the park.

KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure has designed the new Rurbad as a striking gateway at the newly created southern park entrance, offering something for everyone: maximum flexibility for schools and clubs, a wide range of swimming and course offerings for young and old, a sauna and wellness area as a refuge for those seeking peace and quiet, and a restaurant serving all indoor and outdoor areas.

Location Düren, Germany

Client / operator Dürener Service Betriebe General contractor Pellikaan Bauunternehmen www.pellikaan.de

General planners and architects KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure DE – 42551 Velbert www.architekt-krieger.de

Author Ina Neuhaus KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure

Photos Christopher Arnoldi, Altrich

Wellness facility devine wellness-anlagenbau AT – 6241 Radfeld www.devine.at

Official opening July 2022 Construction costs (without outside facilities) EUR 20 million

Smooth planning process

The planning team consisting of KRIEGER Architekten | Inge nieure as the general planner and Pellikaan Bauunternehmen as the general contractor were happy to accept the challenge of creating contemporary architecture at this special loca tion on the basis of the concept devised by PROVA and the Dürener Service Betrieb utility company.

The interdisciplinary planning revolved around Building In formation Modelling. The comprehensive BIM model was used to bring together all planning areas, combine informa tion, organise construction workflows and boost the efficien cy of the entire process.

No project managers were appointed – Dürener Service Be trieb as the client had great confidence in the team of plan ners and contractors and was not disappointed. Thanks to their highly efficient cooperation, the indoor swimming pool

took only 18 months to build and was opened on budget on 8 July 2022. Since then it has been attracting users from near and far.

Steel plate recalls industrial heritage

The large-scale architecture of the new Rurbad pool creates a powerful urban presence, consisting essentially of three rectilinear structures that come together to form a compact building and whose shapes and façade design reveal the inner structures.

The bottom level forms the broad base of the whole, even extending beyond the building‘s footprint in some areas: facing the track and field athletes‘ training grounds to the west, the base level underpins a floating, grassed entrance forecourt with a view of the playing fields and Holzbenden park, while also creating a separate entrance for the adjacent outdoor sports facilities.

Placed above this and facing west is a striking, two-storey block clad in pre-corroded steel plate that pays tribute to the industrial heritage of the town of Düren. It forms the solid backbone for the large swimming hall facing east, which is a light-flooded structure accommodating the 50-metre com petition pool. The roof surfaces are covered with panels of a photovoltaic system.

Views of idyllic greenery

A gently rising, green access level leads along the west façade of the building to the roof of the basement and thus to the main entrance on the ground floor. The elongated path to the lobby leads past the floor-to-ceiling glass façades of the smaller swimming hall and allows the first glimpses of the instruction pool and parent-child area. As it continues, the ground descends to the level of the park and thus offers arriving visitors access from both sides.

On the left side of the lobby is the restaurant area for exter nal visitors to Holzbendenpark and the pool. From the res taurant‘s spacious rooms there are views of the surrounding idyllic greenery.

To the right of the lobby is the indoor swimming pool foyer with the cash desk and extensive glazing that provides a view

into the lower swimming hall of the competition pool. The lift available here ensures that all areas of the building enjoy stepfree accessibility.

Via the turnstile system, visitors arrive at the staircase, which is centrally located in the floor plan, serves as the wayfinding hub and provides access to all floors. Also on the same level as the foyer and beyond the staircase are the instruction pool and the parent-child area for the youngest guests.

On the basement level there are abundant changing rooms and lockers as well as five communal changing rooms, which are used among other things by schools and clubs. For these groups, there is also a separate entrance at car park level. The barri er-free changing and shower area is located right next to the lift.

Interlinked with outdoor sports facilities

The functional areas of the outdoor sports facilities are also located on this level. Two large glazed exercise and gymnastics rooms with a view of the future blue artificial running track, equipment rooms, changing rooms and toilet/shower facilities are available to users via a separate entrance. The dovetail ing of the training areas lends expression to the design idea of closely interlinking outdoor and indoor activities to form an overall complex.

From the adjacent pre-swim showers of the indoor pool, visitors arrive at a staircase that provides direct access up to the 50-metre competition pool. The pool hall is 1.25 m lower than the foyer and the neighbouring functional areas of the instruction and children‘s pools. This difference is bridged by a multi-level grandstand with integrated steps.

In the zone between the two swimming halls are the res taurant area for the swimming hall, equipment and service rooms, and pool supervision. As a special highlight, a steam bath and a relaxing warm water pool with a view of the competition pool have been provided for users in this inter mediate area.

Venue for supra-regional competitions

The design objective was to organize the water surfaces, wellness area and restaurant facilities on the site so as to op timize the space available and, at the same time, to achieve the maximum possible flexibility.

The outcome is a 50-m sports pool with eight lanes (50 m x 21 m, water surface: 1,104 m²), which is certified by the Ger man Swimming Association (DSV) for supra-regional swim ming meetings and water polo matches. At such meetings, spectators in the stands can follow the times and results on the large, digital scoreboard.

Parallel use by schools, clubs and individual users

The adaptable competition pool is equipped with a twopart lifting wall and lifting floor and can be divided into two or three pool sections to provide space for all kinds of functions and visitor groups. For users with limited mo bility, the disabled persons’ lift can be attached to each section via a plug socket in the pool surround. If the lifting wall is raised completely, an area 23.50 m long is created on one side, which can be further divided by a lifting floor with a trailing apron. On the other side, there is a pool with eight 25-metre lanes suitable for competitions and supple mented by a diving area consisting of a 1-metre board and a 3-metre platform.

In this pool, for example, clubs can train on the 50-m lane, schools can hold their swimming lessons in the area with a lifting floor and public bathers can swim their laps, all at the same time. All pool layouts have one thing in common: the wonderful view out of the water into the greenery and trees of Holzbendenpark.

The instruction pool is located on the same level as the foyer and is accessed via two short flights of steps from the competition pool. It is separated from the competition area of the 50-m pool both climatically and acoustically. It has a water surface of 167 m² (10 m x 16.66 m) and a

broad water familiarisation staircase. Adjacent and separated by an internal glass partition is the parent-child area, where younger users will find a spray park with water attractions and a paddling pool with a water surface of 16 m².

Rurbad sauna on the upper floor

The upper floor is reserved for the sauna area. To the north of the main staircase are the changing rooms with pre-sauna showers, the sauna bistro with spacious indoor and outdoor areas, and a fireside lounge and a relaxation room with a view of the old trees of Holzbendenpark. To the south of the entrance are the sauna facilities of the indoor area and the roof terrace with outdoor sauna and relaxation room.

The centrepiece of this oasis of calm is the lounge with its exposed concrete benches and foot baths, around which the indoor saunas and treatment facilities are grouped: a classic Finnish sauna (85 to 90° Celsius), a salt sauna with mild tem peratures of 60 to 65° Celsius, a steam bath, and the cool ing-off area with a plunge pool. The ice room located here against the outside wall with an ice fountain and video wall is flooded with light during the day and LED-lit in the evening.

From this interior area, there is access to one of the two roof terraces featuring an outdoor pool and outdoor showers. Here, the west façade contains a large-area opening like a portal, which is equipped with a glass railing and creates

exciting, reciprocal sight lines between sauna users and park visitors, directing the view to the sports facilities and parkland and far into the surrounding Vordereifel region.

In addition to a relaxation room, there is an attractive event sauna (85 to 90° Celsius) in the outdoor area, inviting visitors to relax to the sound of music and lighting effects.

All-round glazed fireplace

The sauna‘s catering area is located in the north of the sauna complex and is separated from the sauna facilities by the showers, changing rooms and staircase. It is served via a dumbwaiter from the central kitchen on the ground floor. A cosy indoor area and the spacious roof terrace invite the user to linger, relax or just sunbathe.

Right next to the sauna bistro, the fireside lounge beckons with comfort and cosiness. The fireplace is integrated into the glass partition to the bistro and glazed all around, ensuring cosy warmth and a homely ambience from all sides.

Whatever the user – wellness aficionado, top athlete or young fledgling swimmer – they all find what they are look ing for here: great quality of stay and perfect conditions for their needs. The new Rurbad effortlessly balances functions and user needs and thus gives Holzbendenpark a distinctive new face.

Location Bad Wimpfen, Germany

Client / operator Kurverwaltung Bad Wimpfen

Architects

4a Architekten GmbH DE – 70376 Stuttgart www.4a-architekten.de

Site management bau-werk-stadt Jürgen Gruber, Stuttgart

Author 4a Architekten

Photos Uwe Ditz, Stuttgart

Official opening May 2021

BATHING IN ATMOSPHERE

MODERNISATION AND EXTENSION OF BAD WIMPFEN BRINE POOL

Together with the health clinic, hotel and spa hall, the brine pool is part of a building ensemble in the resort town of Bad Wimpfen. To make the existing facility dating from the 1970s fit for the future, the spa has been atmospherically redesigned and extended in the style of the existing pool, and the entire pool equipment has been upgraded. The client commissioned the Stuttgart-based 4a Architekten with a preliminary study and the design.

The spa town of Bad Wimpfen owes its long tra dition and good reputation as a health resort pri marily to the curative properties of brine. With the founding of the first spa hotel in 1835, the town developed into a health resort and today‘s spa centre comprising a clinic, hotel and spa hall. At the end of the 1970s, the brine pool designed by

the Stuttgart architects Geier+Geier was added as the centrepiece of the building ensemble.

Respectful modernisation

Structurally, the brine bath is linked to the spa hall via a shared foyer. Due to this good location with a direct connection to the clinic and the spa hall‘s

underground car park, the client decided to refurbish the existing building rather than build a new one – and com missioned 4a Architekten to prepare a study in advance. The refurbishment has made it possible to leave the ensemble largely untouched and thus conserve resources. In addition, by preserving the existing building fabric, distinctive elements continue to characterize the revamped bathing hall and en sure a high recognition value after modernisation.

Fit for the future

To get the spa built in the 1970s ready for the future, not only was a redesign and extension of the facility necessary, but the entire pool equipment had to be replaced as well. The design upgrade comprises the central bathing hall with the entrance area and foyer, the changing wing, and the outdoor area with its outdoor pool. The basic structure and load-bearing frame of the existing building have been left largely intact, and with it

the characteristic polygonal floor plan of the existing bathing hall. Only towards the spa park has the ground plan been opened up and the façade shifted outwards to provide more sunbathing space.

The hexagonal indoor brine pool has been given new sur faces, a new pool surround and a user-friendly entrance. Above the pool, a new, strikingly folded wooden slat ceil ing extends like a canopy over the bathers. The ceiling not only gives the interior a special atmosphere, but also ensures pleasant acoustics. The new glazed steam bath is directly adjacent to the swimming channel in the bathing hall. Behind it is a secluded relaxation room with a view of the outside area. The steam bath, relaxation room and sanitary areas are also clad with acoustically effective wooden slat ceilings.

The outdoor brine pool has also been fully upgraded and resurfaced. In addition to a swimming channel, neck showers and bubble loungers, it has been given two extra exits for increased comfort.

Light effects on the rock salt wall

Warm colours and materials lend the interior atmosphere and an elegant look. Touches of colour are provided by the ochre-coloured walls and the bright green of the lockers and changing rooms. The black mosaic tiles in the steam bath form a peaceful contrast to the open-plan bathing hall. A special effect is created by the floor-to-ceiling rock salt wall in the relaxation room, which can be backlit in different colours.

Location Milan, Italy

Client / operator Bocconi University

Architects

SANAA JP – 135-0053 Tokyo www.sanaa.co.jp

Author SANAA Myrtha Pools

Photos SANAA Philippe Renault Myrtha Pools

Official opening September 2021

AMERICAN STYLE BOCCONI SPORT CENTRE IN MILAN

The Bocconi Sport Centre is part of the new campus of Bocconi University located on a large site close to the city centre of Milan, a sustainable and intelligently networked centre open to university residents and staff for both large competitions and individual training, while remaining available for public use by the Milanese population. In 2021, the new campus obtained LEED Platinum certification from design to construction and for the building’s entire life cycle.

Covering a total of 17,000 square metres, the new Bocconi Sport Centre designed by the well-known Japanese architectural studio SANAA is spread over four main levels. This is an ambitious project in the area formerly occupied by the Centrale del Latte in Milan and, following the example of US university campuses, combines advanced func tionality and technologies with modern and sus tainable design.

Maximum efficiency of the building plant system

Every floor of the sport centre has balconies fac ing south, screened by an undulating metal mesh installed outside that creates a porous relationship with the city and ensures natural light while re ducing cooling loads during the summer. Passive solutions have been adopted to reduce the heat loss from the envelope, to increase its perfor mance and to eliminate thermal bridges.

Versatile and eco-sustainable building

The hall on the ground floor overlooks the Olympic-size swimming pool and the entrances to the various areas of the sports centre. The fitness club and the wellness centre are located on the first floor. Home of Bocconi’s sports teams, the Bocconi Sports Arena is situated on the second floor: an area with a 400-seat electrically retractable grandstand and a multi-purpose gym for basketball, volleyball and 5-a-side football. A 220-m indoor running track on the third floor en circles the gym as a ring structure suspended from above.

The aquatic complex is to be found at sublevel -1 featuring a 50-m Olympic-size swimming pool and a 25-m warm-up pool, while technical systems, water filtration and treatment, and IT systems are located on sublevel -2.

Aquatic centre for programmed training

The aquatic centre was designed on the three principles of digitisation, environmental and economic sustainability. The

modular stainless-steel pool system contributes to 6 of the 9 LEED certification categories. Modular stainless-steel pan els reduce the carbon footprint compared to other technol ogies. A smart filtration and disinfection system optimises energy performance and helps to reduce operational costs.

The main pool with its moveable bulkhead measures 51.55 x 15 m with a depth varying from 1.38 to 2.03 m. It is inter nationally approved for swimming, water polo and artistic swimming. It features an advanced underwater camera for the drowning detection system and an intelligent training system that allows swimmers to follow precisely programmed training speeds set by their coaches. The second pool meas ures 25 x 10 x 1.38 m and is intended for warm-up at competi tive events, but above all for instruction and fitness activities.

Split movable bulkhead

Fully equipped with a split movable bulkhead and competi tion accessories, the main pool can host FINA international

competition events. Resting at the ends on tracks fixed to the outer flooring and on the bottom of the pool, the bulk head can be easily moved to pre-set positions. The move able split bulkhead allows multiple activities to be managed simultaneously, whether they are competition, educational or recreational, in separate areas within the same pool.

Sustainability

The campus project has pursued and achieved sustainability through a series of combined and synergistic actions. Build ing envelopes with high energy performance have been realised, not only thermal but also lighting (light control, glare), by adopting passive measures. Energy flows have been optimised (passive techniques) including strategies for the use of systems (e.g. on-demand air conditioning and lighting). Renewable energy sources have been used (solar photovoltaic integrated into the roofs, limiting the exchange with the grid). This has resulted in no increase in the ener

gy consumption of the campus in its complexity, making it a net-zero complex.

A district heating and cooling system using water from the Milanese water table and Ticinello canal has been developed. The air conditioning is based on a mesh underground water circuit serving all buildings. The temperature of the mesh is kept constant thanks to the exchange of heat with the ground water. The water circulating in the mesh has a temperature between 7° and 15° Celsius, depending on the season (sum mer/winter) and therefore minimizes heat loss by being con stantly at a temperature about equal to that of the ground.

The hydraulic compensation mesh acts as a “distributor” of thermal energy between the different buildings and allows heat to be transferred from areas that need cooling to those that need heating, such as a large passive network without the use of generators.

System control

LED systems have been adopted that automatically adapt to the presence of people and to the levels of natural illuminance available, with control for a single area and a single lighting body. Each lighting fixture is freely and individually program mable (e.g. switching on, off, light intensity). Over 150,000 lighting points are managed throughout the campus.

An integrated BMS Building Automation System supervises, manages and controls all the components of the systems, both electrical and mechanical, allows adjustment, draws attention to malfunctions, and keeps a historical record of consumption data.

Photovoltaic panels on rooftops

Monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels have been in stalled on the roofs of the campus buildings for a total power of 1,125 kW peak. The ballast anchoring systems used for this system allows a rapid execution and the immediate and cor rect inclination of all the panels.

The new campus has been designed to biocompatibility and eco-sustainability criteria to maximise the use of sunlight and reduce noise pollution.

Location Loxstedt, Germany

Client / operator Municipality of Loxstedt

Landscape architects

Planungsbüro G. & L. Hoppe

DE –27580 Bremerhaven www.buero-hoppe.de

Author Lüder Hoppe

Photos Lüder Hoppe

Official opening September 2022

Construction costs EUR 3.5 million

BREAKING OUT OF THE MOULD SPORTS AND LEISURE FACILITY IN LOXSTEDT

On the basis of a 2016 study and the findings of a public participation process, the mu nicipality of Loxstedt south of Bremerhaven set itself the goal of creating a sports facility that would bring together non-organised sports activities, club sports and commercial sports providers. The outcome is a facility that is freely accessible at all times, where all interest groups can pursue their exercise and leisure activities ranging from outdoor fitness training and eating ice cream to football and skating.

Seamless transition from non-organised to club sport

The Loxstedt sports and leisure facility is im pressive for its combination of club sports, nonorganised sports activities and commercial sports offerings. It caters for the ongoing change in peo ple’s sporting behaviour. The sports facility has a diverse range of facilities for all age and user groups, and accessibility is firmly anchored in the strategy.

Unrestricted accessibility and the variety of sports on offer have gone down particularly well, both in the Loxstedt community and in regional sports

tourism. Unlike many “off-the-peg facilities”, the sports and leisure facility is always busy: outdoor fitness training and calisthenics are already under way in the early morning hours. These are joined in the course of the morning by mothers with children, pre-schools and school games pupils. And after school, the facility is immediately taken over by adolescents. When it’s the turn of sports clubs, the “non-organised athletes” are happily integrated. The transition from individual sports activities to sports in a club setting is fluid. To wards evening, the facility is mainly used by young adults. Highly popular at this time are not only football, but also beach sports and basketball.

Zoning of functions and spaces

All buildings are accessible from the car park in front. In ad dition to a main entrance, there are three side entrances to the sports facility itself, which remains freely accessible at night. The main entrance between the sports bar and the clubhouse leads to the central space. Small children’s games, boules, artificial turf pitch and the sanitary facilities and changing rooms are accessible from here. To the south, the multifunctional area continues with calisthenics, outdoor fit ness training and a small synthetic playing surface. Of course, reigning supreme, football is an important element of the sports facility. With a large natural turf pitch, a half-pitch for training and a large artificial turf pitch, the sport is also equipped for future growth.

Harmonious blend of sports opportunities

On the west side of the artificial turf pitch, there is a fun sports area. The beach sports courts allow play crosswise for volleyball and football tennis (with a variable net height), but, with modifications, also lengthwise for beach handball and football. The adjacent inline hockey field and the skating fa cility with a half pipe, quarter pipe, curbs, rails, fun box and ramp round off the facility.

All areas are demarcated from each other by such elements as mounds, steps and banks. As a result, each functional area has spectator seating and its own sense of space. This facil itates orientation and at the same time fosters the peaceful coexistence of different sports. The proximity of the ice cream

Beach sports

Inline skater hockey, iceable

Skate park

Fitness centre

Artificial turf field

Playground

Outdoor fitness area, callisthenics

Multi-sport court

Natural turf field

and sports bar to the boules and playground has proven to be a compelling idea, as have the different seating options for supervision and care during children’s games. This per mits variations in the distance between parents and children, something that benefits both sides.

Geared to flexibility and sustainability

A number of standard construction methods have been modified in a pioneering way. For example, the small court is wider than usual so that basketball can be played as a fully-fledged sport without any safety risks. The playground design has also undergone ingenious adaptations. The selection of playground equipment covers a wide range of proficiency levels, but can also be used as a “course”. A real sports playground, yet barrier-free! The jumptrack trampo line has proven particularly popular.

The near-natural greening, tree-planting policy, runoff-free management of precipitation, use of recyclable materials,

compact design, high-efficiency lighting, solar heating for the sanitary facilities and photovoltaics for running the buildings all add up to a balanced eco-sustainability package.

Free accessibility of the sports facility not without criticism In the initial weeks after opening, the artificial turf was abused as a dog toilet and occasionally used by people on cycles and electric scooters. In many conversations with users, a strong commitment to the facility has developed as a result. The athletes were given the responsibility to keep an eye on “their” new sports facility and to personally ensure that no damage occurs. This has worked well. Although vandalism occasionally occurs in the Loxstedt community, the sports facility has remained clean and undamaged. Nevertheless, there will be supplementary fence structures to channel access from the south side. The artificial turf will be protected by a self-closing gate system that will significantly impede access for two-wheelers and dogs.

Typical of the planning site were the high degree of sealed surfaces, building density, air and noise pollution, and pronounced social segregation. In addition, 90 to 95 per cent of the surfaces are damaged by a legacy of contamination.

What was needed, therefore, was a plan that would create more green spaces, a better quality of life and more for residents to identify with – and at the same time meet the ecological challenges of the future.

Kannebäckersiedlung

ÖstlicherZubringer

Westerwaldstraße

Festwiese

Public participation through street parties

The planners of WES LandschaftsArchitektur divided the area along Westerwaldstrasse as the central east-west axis into three areas: the neighbourhood greenery of the Kannebäcker residential estate, the central park of the Festwiese meadow and the new sports and play areas in the Lenzwiese meadow.

The ecological importance of the project is considerable: the planting of more than 200 new trees, the upgrading of wasteland, newly planted traditional orchards and feed

meadows for birds and insects counteract air and noise pol lution and significantly improve biodiversity and the local micro-climate.

Early public participation in the form of site inspections, street parties and workshops ensured local people‘s trust and involvement in this cooperative planning process.

Main axis and the Kannebäcker estate Westerwaldstrasse forms the main axis of the new link be tween the inner-city green corridor on the right bank of the

An der Lenzwiese

Neue Anbindung Achse Westerwaldstraße

Rhine and the outer Cologne green belt. Over a length of almost two kilometres, it combines a chain of green spaces with wider open spaces, connecting the Kannebäcker estate, the Festwiese meadow and the Lenzwiese meadow.

The plans are for the Kannebäcker estate area to become quieter. The completely barrier-free areas and the new neighbourhood public space encourage residents to social ize. New pathways make car-free mobility in the neighbour hood more attractive, framing a small square with lawns that also serves as a meeting place for the neighbourhood.

Smooth transition from one part of the facility area to another The Festwiese is the project area‘s central green space – a neighbourhood park with a variety of activities, in one place

and without spatial separation. The newly created children‘s play area and the streetball court are available for all-age activities.

The bleak landscape at the Lenzwiese was noted for its aban doned sports ground, its unattractive playground and its un usable wasteland. Here, WES created an exercise course, a 50-m running track, an obstacle course and a playground. What is particularly attractive is that the parts of the facility merge into one another.

A circular arena with a diameter of 100 m has been built on the site of the former mineral surface. Around it runs a radial woodchip track about 300 m long. The east side of the cir cular arena has been designed as a turf area with two goals 40 m apart. Seating for spectators and passers-by the pitch

and around the edges completes the picture of an attractive, state-of-the-art and sustainable sports facility.

Conclusion: from the fringes to an urban oasis At the start of the project, Cologne‘s Westerwaldstrasse was in a desolate state. A lot of sealed surfaces, little greenery, closed sports fields and playgrounds, and lots of historic soil contami nation. The only prospect for the future seemed to be increas ing social segregation.

The outcome of the Westerwaldstrasse regeneration project is a continuous and highly attractive eight-hectare green area with a variety of activities from the park bench on the doorstep to the arena at the Lenzwiese. The appeal of the neighbour hood has been enhanced. This is a project that reduces the pol lution and improves the quality of life – and both significantly.

SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

SPORTPARK STYRUM IN MÜLHEIM

„Sportpark Styrum“ in Mülheim an der Ruhr is a family-friendly and multi-generational sports and neigh bourhood park that offers low-threshold, but also challenging and unusual activities. On behalf of and in close cooperation with Mülheim Sportservice (MSS), landscape architects DTP Landschaftsarchitekten started designing this park in 2017 and built it in two phases. The park was handed over for public use in spring 2022.

The new sports park, located on the site of a former clay court, was created with the enthusiastic participation of local clubs, residents, athletes, school pupils and pre-school children. The park‘s low-threshold, free and stimulating sports offering is the key that can also introduce users to the activities offered by clubs, and educational and cultural institutions. This is sup ported by firmly established sports and social supervision on site. At the same time, the park has challenging elements for both beginners and advanced athletes.

The sports hall in the vicinity, the municipal day-care centre and the Stiftungspark are linked to the high-intensity sports park and its sports landscape by the „sports link“. This unlocks synergies and opens up the previously closed-off site.

Location

Mülheim a.d. Ruhr, Germany

Client / operator City of Mülheim

Landscape architects DTP Landschaftsarchitekten www.dtp-essen.de

Open-air hall McArena www.mcarena.de

Elastic layers Polytan www.polytan.com

Plenty of action in the “sports link”

In the ball and team sports area, ball games can be played in an open-air hall independently of the weather. With this cov ered area, the city of Mülheim is significantly expanding the time available for activities there. The offering also extends to a streetball court, an interactive goal wall, seating for teams and a Teqbal table.

„Styrum Beach“ is an attractive place in the sports park with a holiday feel and special sports offers. Enclosed by a protec tive dune, there is space here for beach volleyball, beach soc cer, long jump and even bouldering on the perimeter wall. Large sunshades invite you to savour the inner-city beach atmosphere.

Parkour and bouldering x-move www.x-move.net

Obstacle course and playground equipment Playparc www.playparc.de

Author DTP Landschaftsarchitekten

Official opening April 2022

Photos Nikolai Benner

The parkour and fitness area has been designed in great de tail and offers a variety of opportunities for athletic train ing. Modelled grass and asphalt humps, parkour elements, calisthenics equipment and climbing opportunities make this area attractive for active athletes. An area furnished with or ganically shaped volumes and curved steel tubes makes this space aesthetically appealing.

With near-natural elements on the existing topography, an area has been created on a hill where stone blocks and raised robinia trunks invite users to overcome obstacles and practise precision jumps. Part of the hill is buttressed with L-shaped concrete elements, creating a clearly defined edge at the transition to the central area. At the rear, the hill is sup ported by a retaining wall designed as a bouldering wall with a natural rock look and climbing holds.

Sports landscape as a peaceful alternative A diverse system of paths, with variations in material and form, and in some places with a moving surface, becomes a sports space in its own right. The system encourages exer cise, links the features of the sports park and effectively in

tegrates the surrounding open spaces. This encouragement to engage in exercise is accentuated with ground markings whose uniform design also links the adjacent facilities with each other.

The 500-m track links the sports park with the school play ground. The running track is made of materials changing from one section to the next. A kilometre marker and sign posts serve as a guide.

Rambling grassed areas form a quiet contrast to the highintensity sports track, providing opportunities to rest, picnic and balance on landscape-integrated sports elements, while also fulfilling ecological functions such as rainwater retention or as a food source for insects.

With the aim of encouraging exercise during breaks, the existing small playground of the adjacent school has been modernised with the development of a new, exercise-stimu lating playground for older pre-school and younger school children. The school uses the sports park for its physical education lessons.

THREE QUESTIONS TO THE OPERATOR

MARTINA ELLERWALD AND JOHANNES MICHELS

City of Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheimer SportService Sports development planning

What goals do you aim to achieve with the strategy of an open sports park?

The new sports park is not only intended as a venue for clas sic sports activities. We want families to discover it as an at tractive place to spend time with a wide range of exercise op portunities. We‘d also like not only children and adolescents but also the surrounding schools, sports clubs and day-care centres in the district to benefit from the improved sports and leisure facilities.

In particular, the neighbouring Willy-Brandt-Schule with its roughly 1,000 pupils and the two Styrum primary schools use the sports park for school physical exercise lessons and other activities such as break-time games and sports days.

The various functional areas have a distinctly stimulating character and encourage different age groups to get moving, play and practise sport. In addition, various sports courses, open get-togethers for children and adolescents, and sports events are held on a regular basis. There are special activities for many user groups, e.g. a football kick-around for young girls and the hip hop workshop for teenagers. But there is also beach volleyball, which is more popular with students, boules for older people or sports activities in the evening hours. The varied programme of activities brings different people together. The sports park is a place of encounter and of social interaction and the biggest freely accessible sportfor-all hub that we have in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

How do you reconcile the differing interests of the clubs, educational and cultural institutions, and non-organised users? Are there conflicts?

One of the big tasks in day-to-day running is to ensure that people get along with each other. For us, it was obvious from the beginning that we didn‘t want to leave the facility to its own devices. So we have a permanent coordination office for the sports park. In addition, our maintenance staff are on hand during school hours, and an exercise instructor is on site in the afternoons until the park closes in the evenings. In the best case, the use of the park is handed over by one stakeholder to the next.

For example, recreational athletes use the sports park in the morning concurrently with schools. So mutual consideration is called for. If sports clubs are open about it, they will find a large public there that they can attract as members. Groups can always use a cordon system to clearly mark their area.

Mülheimer SportService networks closely with the Mülheimer Sportbund sports federation, and whenever possible, clubs are involved in the activities available. For example, parkour is available from independent coaches and also from the park our section of Styrumer TV sports club. In addition, we are open to all offers from other institutions in the sports park, as they are an important aspect of social control in the park.

What kind of exercise spaces or outdoor sports facilities will we need from now on? Freely accessible exercise spaces are growing in number and becoming increasingly diverse. The aim is to offer the popu lation opportunities for physical activity without major barri ers. Up to 75 % of the people in Mülheim are physically active every week, but only up to 33 % are members of sports clubs. For this reason, places of organised sport must be joined by places of non-organised activities. This is not pitting one against the other – it should always be about togetherness. The basketball club can also benefit from a streetball court, for instance. And as a club member, you might like to be able to play against your best friend in addition to training. So it can be useful to involve the neighbouring institutions in the planning. As far as possible, no compromises should be made in terms of quality. If you want to exercise, you should find a well-maintained sports venue that encourages exercise.

Location Appenzell, Switzerland

EQUILIBRE

ARCHITECTURE AND REFERENCES TO THE LOCATION POOL

FACILITY IN APPENZELL

The new „Equilibre“ pool facility in Appenzell seeks a balance between pride and simplicity, between tradition and modernity, between past and future. Its location and size make it a flagship among the local pools. Its concept is based on that of traditional smaller spas, while its modern wooden building is a powerful advertisement for a new bathing culture. With evocations of the coffered façades typical of the locality, Peter Moor Architekten has created a reference to the location and a new interpretation of architectural characteristics.

The building’s urban form is also very much in the spirit of balance: the new volume fits between the neighbouring buildings like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. The pool seeks dialogue, fills the gap and serves as a link between the large-scale buildings along the main road. Thanks to this arrangement, a spatially congruent situation is created; more over, the three or four interpenetrating bodies offer an ideal form for the spatial aggregation of the required room programme.

Functionalism and clarity

The car park accessible from Sitterstrasse was left in its original location, but completely redesigned and gently embedded in the slightly sloping to pography.

A central entrance creates a distinct identity. Start ing from the spacious foyer with the cash desk, the visitor enters the north wing containing the changing rooms. These lead on to the showers

and then on to the main hall with its spacious antechamber and the west wing housing the non-swimmer‘s pool. A solid core in the centre regulates the groups of uses. Ultimately, the space opens onto the large south-facing glazing over the 25-m pool.

The four main uses (entrance, changing rooms, non-swim mers‘ pool, swimmers‘ pool) simply wrap around the central core. From his office located there, the pool attendant can easily monitor the entire pool and the cash desk area.

The wellness services are accessed via the interior stair case. The upper floor houses the changing rooms with the

massage rooms along the illuminated façade. Similar to the rotation on the ground floor, the central core leads to the west wing with its saunas. In front of the saunas are the relaxation room and the terrace.

Elevated glazing in the saunas allows a view over the rest ing guests of the landscape and the greenery along the stream. Available for cooling down are sensory showers and a grotto cooling pool with minimally dosed rooflight ing. In this way, the stone core forms a cool contrast to the wooden saunas. In the spacious intermediate zone, foot baths create an opportunity for a break, with a view of the pool or of the village.

Descending a separate staircase, the user has direct access to outdoors and fresh air. Facing away from the road, with good sunlight and a view of the mountains, the southwest-facing wooden deck is ideal for relaxing on; this is also the case for regular bathers, who can enjoy a hot tub in the open air. Sliding glazing affords direct access from the non-swimmer‘s west wing.

The diversion of the Küechlimoosbach stream was used to activate the south-western outdoor space: A natural Kneipp pool with river gravel foot massage extends along the seat ing steps. In this way, Bad Appenzell offers an attractive out door space both in the winter months and in the transitional periods, always with a view of the village and the mountains.

Materials typical of the locality

The striving for balance also finds expression in the finished building: an interplay of concrete, Appenzeller timber and glass – high-quality, durable materials with robust ageing behaviour.

Running all around the building, a solid concrete base forms a firm foundation for the two-storey wooden build ing. Its height of up to +40 cm provides good moisture protection for the wooden structure, which has been treated with a pre-greying varnish. Inside, a bench rests on the concrete base and invites visitors to linger, recline and relax; the view of the landscape can also be enjoyed from here.

Vertically accentuated external structural elements empha sise the upward striving. The wooden supporting structure consists of a single-axis, cantilevered ceiling of twin beams. These rest on paired supports, which as an external load-bearing structure become the defining element of the façade. The spaciously projecting flat roof not only protects the supporting structure from the weather, but also makes a valuable contribution to protection from the heat in summer.

The beams and supports were fabricated as elements in the factory and invisibly assembled into a frame on the construc tion site in a structurally simple way. The 10 cm thick wooden panels on top were connected along the longitudinal joints to form a ceiling slab that is resistant to bending and shear.

The frame and ceiling slab are connected to the solid concrete core and collectively give the building its strength.

In addition to the interplay of twin supports and glass, the choice of materials also deliberately seeks a sense of place with traditional coffered panelling. The side walls resembling bulk heads were designed as finely articulated coffered surfaces. In this way, the building thrives on its constant interplay of closed and open. Individual elements loosen up the appearance, such as the large peephole overlooking Sitterstrasse, which aims to whet the appetite for the imminent pleasure of bath ing. The far-extending wooden roof ultimately forms a subtle horizontally accentuated counterweight to the numerous ver tical elements – Equilibre or balance.

FROM A STONY DESERT TO A LIVELY GREEN

CITY PARK

URBAN PARK IN RIJSWIJK

From a stony desert to lively green city park, the radical transformation of the Bogaard plein is the long awaited kick-off for the further development of the Rijswijk city centre “In De Bogaard”. Structural greening is the starting point for optimising the liveability and resilience of the city. By interweaving as much nature as possible with the functional aspects of the city park as a social hub, a place to meet, relax, play, and practice sports, sustainable objectives for the city will also be achieved. These include climate adaptation – the ability to resist heat stress and collect rainwater – and the promotion of biodiversity, health, and wellbeing.

The new city park is situated on top of the existing parking garage and has a sloping surface with a great diversity of greenery, from large trees and shrubs to flowering plants and grasses. Attractive paved circulation areas meander around it, con necting the various functions of the park. This creates a traffic space for cyclists and pedestrians

like an oxygen-rich oasis, with constantly chang ing views. On the way to the shopping area, or crossing the city park by bike, this new city land scape invites you to take a deep breath and enjoy a moment of pure greenery. The city park is also a destination in itself, an attractive retreat for young and old, for healthy exercise and daily relaxation.

Oasis in the city

A loop-shaped route runs through the park, with various sports and games facilities, areas for picnicking, sunbath ing, and taking in the shade. A spacious terrace with an amphitheatre and a new water element invite for fun and relaxation. Children can play safely on hot days while their supervisors relax on a bench. Rijswijk has a weekly organic market in this new city park, connecting the old functionality of the Bogaardplein and its adjacent shopping area with the city‘s healthy, green future strategy.

A contemporary city park

By redefining the existing character of the place and bringing more greenery into the centre of Rijswijk, the city park responds to contemporary issues of climate adaptation, biodiversity and health and wellbeing for the future. The park‘s functions were revitalised, while new activities have found their place in the city park. The former water basin was replaced by a theatre of fountains. In winter, the water element can make way for a paved flexible central square space for other activities and events, such as an ice rink or a Christmas market.

Location Umag, Croatia

Client/operator Municipality of Umag

Landscape architect

Studio Marić d.o.o. HR – 52470 Umag www.mau.hr

Author Nenad Marić

Photos

Studio Marić d.o.o.

Official opening 2022

Construction costs EUR 600,000

ACTIVITY PROGRAMME WITH ORANGE CIRCLES

PLAYING FIELD AT “MARIJA I LINA”

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN UMAG

The previously abandoned and unused school playing field at the “Marija i Lina” elementary school has been converted into a gathering place for local residents, athletes and children. The Municipality of Umag asked Studio MAU to redesign the playing field and transform the surrounding environment. With the aid of public participation, the school playing field has been given a design that makes it open and attractive to everyone.

The location comprises a wide regional road with roundabouts, a school sports hall and a spacious green area, while the existing playing field consist ed of three basic elements: the playing field area proper, the track surrounding the field with its em bankment, and the area outside the track.

A place for socializing and gathering The intention was to give access to more users outside school hours. Apart from the fact that de mand for well-designed outdoor sports facilities is constantly growing (which became especially evident during the period of pandemic-related restrictions), the designers believe that well-de signed space can generate new opportunities for socializing and meeting.

The design approach was to eliminate visual and spatial barriers to the school and green area, with the intention of opening the playing field to the town, while still complying with the sports facility standards.

By installing circular elements, with spaces for rest ing and socializing, the three elements of “path”, “field” and “embankment” are linked together. In side the circular elements, sports stands, benches for socializing and elements for resting athletes have been formed. The „orange circles“ connect the playing field with its surroundings and create new entrances across the embankment. In addition, the circles also become places with open views to wards the playing field and all its sports areas.

Balanced activity programme

The activity programme consists of two basketball courts, one handball and one futsal court, outdoor gym, long jump area, table tennis and volleyball courts. Sport fields are laid in a north-south direction in order to ensure the same conditions for everyone to practice sports.

Horizontal graphics and carpet structures are used as ele ments defining the space, creating a system of in-between spaces for individual sports. In addition to generating a pulsating public space and the revitalization of sport in the wider town centre, the project offers all the prerequisites for professional and recreational sports activities.

Located in front of a green field with grazing sheep and a local bicycle route, the new red plaza makes a great contrast to the surrounding area. The “red carpet” guides visitors to the urban plaza, inviting them to stop by, hang out, or play. Many shapes of rouge divide the forecourt into different sections along with playful white lines.

When following the lines, people are met by different rails, plateaus, steps, graphics, and greenery inviting them to sports, games, and accommodation. The different expressions are all tied together, creating an exciting entrance that establish Gigantium as a place for sports and entertainment.

Three-dimensional graphics

Designed for different types of creative games, the dynamic graphics created by Danish design studio Rama Studio give life to the concrete space. Sketched with a simple white line, the circles, stripes, letters, and smileys all serve as training elements, wayfinding, and vibrant decorations. The graph ics cover the different pavements and facades ending in three-dimensional shapes to form the fitness bars and rails and the plateau landscape.

PlusBus Stop

The new urban space is a part of the new “PlusBus” program in Aalborg Municipality. Plusbus is a bus rapid transit which is a high-class bus connection. This new, environmentally friendly bus connection creates greater coherence between transport and urban development. A part of the assignment was to emphasize Gigantium as a “PlusBus” stop destination by creating an exciting stop that invites passengers to the sports centre.

PARKOUR PARKS AS MOVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN GESSINGER, TRACEUR AND PARKOUR ENTREPRENEUR

sb: Martin, parkour is a big talking point. However, ideas about it differ widely. What do you understand by Park our?

Martin Gessinger: In our own history, we have witnessed an enormous change in the public perception of and interest in parkour. When we started, at the beginning of the 2000s, hardly anyone had heard of parkour. At that time, we al ready attached great importance to drawing attention to the principles and seriousness, but also to the huge potential of parkour – the “art of efficient movement”, as we called it. We noticed how we underwent positive change through training, became more confident, saw the world with different eyes, developed a compass of values, forged new contacts and simply also became fitter and healthier. We tried to keep this

up and, with like-minded people, we founded “ParkourONE” as an organisation and parkour school.

During this time, there was also a lot of media coverage of our art of movement. With the aid of YouTube and the like, this resulted in the rapid and worldwide spread of parkour. Its coverage in advertising, action films, computer games, and in competitive and mass sports and the identification with highly successful parkour influencers has meanwhile brought about a highly diverse scene with a variety of ideas and training em phasis. What they all certainly have in common is the notion of individual and creative engagement with space, the desire to develop through working on one’s personal limitations and abilities, and also quite simply the fun of exercise and challenge.

Photo: TraceSpace

Martin Gessinger, German parkour pioneer, entrepreneur and specialist planner from Berlin, Germany, has turned his hobby parkour into a profession. In addition to his work as a coach and supervisor at ParkourONE, he plans activity areas with the design office TraceSpace.

Parkour practitioners often use the existing environment for the sport. So why create parkour parks?

A good question. Actually, parkour came into being precise ly because existing spaces in the brutalist Parisian suburbs were differently and newly interpreted by young people – as a huge playground and training space. In a way, this is still the essence of parkour: being inspired by the space, inter preting the possibilities and adapting the moves to one’s own abilities – you don’t need anything planned for this.

From the designer’s point of view, there is now a bigger “but”: areas and spaces designed specifically for parkour more ob viously stimulate people’s curiosity to engage with this envi ronment by moving through it. In the best case, their versa tile design creates “spaces for encounters” that allow different age groups and fringe communities to come together. Social interaction is thus directly promoted, and the parkour scene

benefits several times over. These spaces also offer manifold opportunities for citizen participation in the design and utili sation phase. For us, the best “parkour parks” are movement spaces in which a broad target group gains ownership.

You design parkour parks, or movement spaces, as you call them. What is your philosophy and what do you pay attention to when designing parkour parks?

Our movement spaces are designed to inspire, arouse curios ity, invite exploration and offer a space for as many different target groups as possible. For training, for play, for moving together. We build bridges between parkour, calisthenics, bouldering, fitness training and adventure playgrounds. We use a wide variety of materials and structures and, at best, plan a highly individual design with the aid of user participa tion formats. This allows us to develop a truly unique space that suits the needs of users and the conditions on site.

Photo: TraceSpace

So it’s possible to plan a parkour park that’s also attractive for many other groups?

Definitely. Where traceurs (parkour practitioners) move hand over hand and swing, fitness enthusiasts can do pull-ups. Where boulderers climb, traceurs find demanding dynamic challenges. Where classic parkour movements are trained on walls, kids find a real adventure park. These are examples that illustrate the multi-perspective approach of our design pretty well. We automatically think and design across generations and target groups.

What’s a good approach if you want to develop a parkour park in your town or municipality?

We’ve had very positive experience with genuine participa tion by future users at the design stage. In addition to gener ating mutual appreciation, i.e. the municipality vs. the citizen

vs. the design office, we lay the foundations for a movement space that meets the wishes of users and the institutions and creates a high level of identification right at the design stage. In the end, these projects simply enjoy much greater accept ance and use, the money is well spent, and the contact be tween users and the municipality or developer has a positive effect on the area even after completion. Of course, the whole thing works best with genuine planning freedom and individ ual design. As specialist planners, we also wish to stress that it certainly makes a considerable difference whether one is prepared to go the extra mile in such design projects. In our opinion, this is the best way to tap the real potential offered by a parkour park or any other movement space.

Thank you for the insights into parkour and your work. My pleasure. Thanks very much for the opportunity.

Photo: TraceSpace

THINK LINEAR.

THE NEW 502 LINEAR LUMINAIRES FROM WIBRE

Photos

right: Park Hyatt Jakarta, Indonesia; PT SINAR TEKNIK, Medan, Indonesia

Reliable planning, clear, straightforward. A versatile, cost-optimising and uncompromising underwater recessed spotlight. This is the 502 – an elegant-looking linear luminaire from the Centum family for medium-sized and larger pools as well as other underwater areas.

Combined with carefully selected lenses, twelve linearly positioned HighEnd multichips create a particularly wide and homogeneous image of light throughout the entire water surface as well as intensive illumination of the pool floor. And yet dark areas in the pool are practically avoided. The extremely flat stainless steel screen with safe, rounded cor ners makes a significant contribution to the design in trendy elongated pools.

Three white tones possible even with RGB-W

The dimmable monochrome version provides the colour temperatures warm white, neutral white and cold white and ensures thus adequate lighting to a wide variety of surfaces. The RGB-W version also has three shades of white in addition to coloured light.

Symmetrical light distribution complements

MixFlux special optics

As an alternative to the asymmetrical MixFlux beam angle, which minimises light pollution, variants of any kind are also available with a symmetrical light distribution of around 20 degrees. These are the right choice for installation in the pool floor, in shallow pools, in fountains and other water installations.

Shaping and reliable

The extremely flat 2 mm stainless steel cover with its flat edge made of ultra-clear toughened safety glass determines the shape of the product and the pool. The solid 316Ti stain

less steel body is robust for eternity and keeps any foreign objects away from the interior to ensure that such beauty can be enjoyed in the long term.

An individual design element

The linear recessed underwater spotlight 502 is equipped with all the proven WIBRE features. Its design, built-in hous ing and installation are witness to experience and point the way to the future. Intended primarily for larger pools, the luminaire also proves to be an individual stylistic element in all other pool sizes thanks to its relatively compact size (510 x 100 mm), linearity and clear design. The spotlight also presents various other water areas in the right light.

For pools of high appeal

Elongated pools are trendy and pose a challenge to linear lighting. Unlike round spotlights, the individual light cones are hardly noticeable and instead combine on the water surface to form an almost homogeneous light image that puts the attractive pool shape in the foreground.

Good things can be so simple Installation and maintenance of the spotlight are totally un complicated. Draining the water prior to inspection work is not necessary since the built-in housing can safely accom modate 2.5 m of cable. The luminaire 502 can be installed in water up to 10 m deep and up to a water temperature of 40° Celsius.

Author Petra Lasar, schwarz auf weiß; Benjamin Pfendt, WIBRE

left: Tom Philippi, www.tomphilippi.com

SKIING IN THE HEART OF STOCKHOLM

ALL YEAR WINTER FUN ON THE ECO FRIENDLY NEVEPLAST DRY SKI SLOPE

Together with SkiStar – the Scandinavian giant in the world of tourism, sport and entertainment –Bergamo-based Neveplast has completed an ambitious project in the Swedish capital. The facility on Hammarbybacken hill and its 500-m ski slope use NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE, the innovative sustainable dry ski slope for skiing all-year round.

On 7 September 2022, the Neveplast ski slope in the heart of Stockholm opened to the public. Served by a ski lift, the slope has a skiable surface of 9,000 m² with a variable gradi ent so that it is suitable for both less experienced skiers and athletes in training. In the upper part of the track, a „SkiStar Snow Park“ measuring 1,500 m² has been built with a dozen structures including rails, jumps and boxes. Among the stars who have tested the snow park and ski slope is Jesper Tjad er, one of the world‘s most famous freeskiers, and Kristoffer Jakobsen, a great athlete of the Swedish Ski World Cup team.

It is a SkiStar project. The Swedish giant specialising in the management of ski facilities, tourism and entertainment is owner of some of the most renowned ski resorts in Sweden and Norway: Are, Salen, Trysil, Hemsedal and Vemdalen. A prestigious destination package had been missing in the capital: Hammarbybacken Stockholm, which has thus be come the sixth ski destination in the SkiStar orbit.

“Hammarbybacken Stockholm has become our sixth destina tion, which means we can make the city a little more active and fun with exciting and inspiring attractions for anyone looking for the joy of exercise and memorable experiences in the city centre. With this investment and thanks to our col laboration with Neveplast, we hope to be able to help more people to be active and at the same time enjoy the best views in Stockholm“, says Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO and Group Manager of SkiStar.

SkiStar chose NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE Neveplast was contacted by SkiStar in autumn 2021. The Ber gamo-based leading company in the production of ski slopes made of plastics material became the main player in the proj ect. After testing other materials around the world, the SkiStar representatives were especially impressed by the character istics of NP30 FREESKI, the latest addition to the Neveplast range that enhances the skills of skiers and riders of all levels.

Neveplast FREESKI is very similar to natural snow and, thanks to the revolutionary technology applied and also to the different geometry, it ensures an easy side-edge grip. Neveplast FREESKI is ideal for those looking for pure fun and the thrill of a skiing descent. In three adjectives: skiing is easy, exciting and fun.

SkiStar required the product to be sustainable and to respond to high standards of technology applied to environmental protection. Urged on by the request of the Swedish clients, the Bergamo-based company, which is always very attentive to environmental issues, developed an ad-hoc product for the Stockholm project.

So-called NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE raises the bar even more in terms of sustainability. It delivers even higher per formance in terms of skiing and the environmental protection required by SkiStar. In April 2022, the NP30 FREESKI SUSTAIN ABLE product obtained ISCC PLUS certification (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification).

Author and photos Neveplast S.r.l., IT – 24061 Albano S. Alessandro, www.neveplast.it

Neveplast’s renewable plastics, as far as the NP30 SUSTAINABLE product is concerned, is managed using a mass balance sys tem through the value chain. This means that the link between certified incoming and outgoing material for each stage of the process is ensured by certification. For every ton of ISCC certified renewable plastic put into production, an equivalent quantity of finished product can be declared as ISCC certified.

SkiStar summer skiing: facts & figures

The skiable area of the Neveplast slope built on Hammarby backen hill is 9,000 m². To be precise, 7,500 m² of this is on the downhill slope, with 1,500 m² dedicated to the snow park locat ed in the upper part about 60 m below the start of the slope. The layout of the snow park includes a dozen structures suitable for all levels: spectacular rails, boxes and kicks make the set-up of the park truly captivating.

The length of the downhill slope is 470 m, which is served by a ski lift about 270 m long. It starts at an altitude of 10 m above sea level and reaches 91 m. For beginners and for young skiers taking their first steps on skis or snowboards, there is the school field, about 35 m long next to the ski lift, served by a treadmill. The ski lift is also entirely covered with Neveplast. The track layout has been designed to satisfy a transversal base of skiers, from be ginners to athletes who use the track to train between the poles.

Designed for entertainment, the Neveplast tubing centre is com posed of SkiStar Mountain Tube with two 50 m long straight tracks and a track with a parabolic curve to make the tubing adventure even more exciting and lively. One of the two straight tracks has a customised SkiStar tunnel which makes the experience of de scending aboard the ski rings even more appealing and inclusive. The tubing track is served by a treadmill supplied by SUNKID, Neveplast partner in many projects around the world.

FINA AND SWISS AQUATICS CELEBRATE OPENING WITH MYRTHA POOLS

NEW VAUDOISE ARÉNA AQUATIC CENTRE

How do you inaugurate Switzerland’s largest and most advanced aquatic centre? Together with FINA and Swiss Aquatics, Myrtha Pools chose the popular 24-hour swim (promoted by Lausanne Aquatique) to com memorate the event. The Italian company is proud to have contributed to fundraising for children and young people recovering from cancer and to illustrate how the Myrtha pools at the new aquatic centre help to promote benefit events related to swimming and various aquatic disciplines.

Thanks to its tremendous competition swimming pools, the Vaudoise Aréna is the perfect venue for the training of Swiss athletes. In his opening speech, Roberto Colletto, CEO of Myrtha Pools, explained: “I’m very excited to be here for the 24-hour swim charity event in an outstanding facility, in the city of sport, Lausanne. I would like to thank all the teams and stakeholders that have made it possible to complete such a beautiful facility, one of the largest in Switzerland, and I’m sure the most advanced one. I’m happy to celebrate this cen tre with FINA and Swiss Aquatics: thank you for your support. And speaking of the Vaudoise Aréna Aquatic Centre, for us it’s a beacon, a model, an example. Thanks to the vision of the Pont12 studio, it is an example of a beautiful and func tional centre. Here we have a model that combines the best of aquatic technology available in terms of swimming pools and accessories, not only for high-level athletes, but also for everyday users interested in keeping fit.”

Longest-standing global partnership

This clear message was reinforced by the presence of repre sentatives of the international swimming federation (FINA). Their presence underscored the importance of the new Swiss

aquatic centre. Representing FINA, with whom Myrtha Pools has been partnered since 2009, Marketing Director James Moy explained: “FINA is delighted to be supporting one of our longest-standing global partners following the installa tion of another state-of-the-art pool facility: pools that will provide a superb new focal point for aquatic sports in the city of Lausanne and the wider region. In addition, it is great to see the pools hosting such important charitable events as the “24 Heures de Natation” promoted by Léman Hope and Lausanne Aquatique.”

Thanks to the presence of such swimming champions as Olympic athlete Jérémy Desplanches along with the perfor mance of a number of divers from the Swiss national team, every record from the previous thirty-six 24-hour swimming sessions was beaten. A total of CHF 3,354 was collected in aid of young people recovering from cancer. Some 1,200 swimmers took the plunge at the new Myrtha pool of the Vaudoise Aréna. Myrtha Pools celebrates the idea that part of this distinction is fuelled by the desire to experience the world’s very finest swimming pools.

Author and photo Myrtha Pools, IT – 46043 Castiglione delle Stiviere, www.myrthapools.com

TRAINING AND FURTHER EDUCATION

The AquaKinetics Academy has been responsible for the train ing and further education of our staff and clients since 2006. Since then, all course instructors have been familiarised and trained with the contents of successful course contents in a 2-day training course in theory and practice, based on the curriculum for AquaCycling instructors specially created as a master's thesis at the IfSSW (Institute for Sport and Sport Sciences at the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg).

In addition to the training for AquaCycling instructors, the Academy also offers the classic AquaFitness and AquaTram poline courses. Workshops are held on these topics to refresh knowledge, promote exchange among course instructors and introduce new exercises. The trainers of the AquaKinet ics swimming school are also regularly trained and educated on the courses on offer. This ranges from baby swimming to the AquaJunior Club for 12-year-olds and also includes spe cial courses such as learning to swim for adults. In addition to training in methodology and didactics by DSV instructors, rescue skills are also learned and trained.

All practical experience from the daily business of the AquaKinetics Fitness Club and the swimming school is incor porated into the training courses. Thus, AquaKinetics has the knowledge from daily use in practice to be able to offer well-founded and practice-oriented training at the in-house AquaKinetics Academy. Special training courses for use in a medical context, such as Medical Aqua Cycling (MAC), are used by therapeutic instructors in accordance with the rules and in a targeted manner. As the only AquaCycling bike with medical product approval in the DACH region, the Aquarider® from AquaKinetics has been used for many years in rehabilitation clinics as a therapy device.

AquaKinetics GmbH www.aqua-kinetics.de

NEW RUNNING TRACK IN COLOMBIA

KDF has established itself in recent years in Latin America through partners in Colombia, Chile, Peru, expanding its reach and becoming one of the important players in the sports flooring markets in the continent.

Our partner in Colombia recently applied our WORLD ATHLETICS-certified running track system POLTRACK SPRAY COAT in an area of 6,800 m2 in Popayan region. Popayan is the capital of the Colombian Department of Cauca and the cultural centre of the region, and the public authorities there chose and trusted our certified running track system for this project.

The relevant stadium needed a new up-to-date track surface to serve the needs of the athletes, so the existing running track was removed and replaced by our certified running track system.

The base layer is constructed at site comprising PU binder and SBR granules. After the curing of the mixture the spray coat layers are applied - a mixture of a special, modified PU spraycoating with EPDM granules applied by a purpose-built spraying machine.

The composition of the top surface has been consistently upgraded to provide the soft surface the athletes need to protect their body and perform at the highest level at the same time.

Our R & D department continuously checks and tests our systems in different climates/conditions to improve their performance for the specific demands of each region, from Middle East to North Europe, to Latin America and beyond.

KDF - Kataskeves Dapedon Ltd. www.kdf.gr

Photo: KDF

Photo: AquaKinetics

TATAMSPORT AT THE BIG 5 IN DUBAI

TatamSport once again took part in the prestigious Dubai International Building and Construction Show. This was the ninth year that Tatamsport exhibited multiple products, such as dividing curtains, retractable tunnels, upholstered protec tion for sports pavilions and much more. All these products have generated great interest and approval in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

All our products can be perfectly adapted to our clients` needs as we manufacture exclusively to order, therefore pro viding each one with the best possible experience.

Since 1996, we have been supplying our guaranteed, firstclass products to countless sports facilities, in turn expand ing continuously in the international market and developing into a reference in the domestic market, whilst providing our brand, quality and experience to more than 100 loyal clients worldwide.

SMG 360°SERVICE 4.0 ON A NEW LEVEL

In 2021, SMG launched a rocket with the introduction of AR (Augmented Reality) and thus once again distinguished itself as a pacesetter in the industry. Now the company is igniting the second stage of this future-oriented application, which will make technical support much easier in the future. Because a excellent service is not based on standards, but on the cus tomer's individual requirements, as CEO Tobias Owegeser ex plains: "Our intention is to be there for customers with a com plete full service as long as they use our products. And that's usually decades.” SMG customers have always appreciated the high availability of original SMG spare parts across the entire range of machines.

And now they also benefit from the use of "augmented real ity". Because this not only boosts the perception of reality with computer support, but also represents an extremely useful tool for service assistance that is self-explanatory.

The example of the TurfCare TCA1400 shows how SMG re lieves its customers and creates real added value. With the new AR application, instruction manual video and brochure, you can get even more information about the product. Whether personally on site, "online" or with the service hot line: Now the service experts from SMG can train even more clearly and quickly clarify problems or uncertainties. Or you can optimize the current use of the TCA with the SMG Service 4.0. Tips from the world market leader for effective cleaning and care of artificial turf pitches!

TatamSport S.L. www.tatamsport.com

SMG Sportplatzmaschinenbau GmbH www.smg-machines.com

Photo: SMG

Graphic: TatamSport

RAFA NADAL ACADEMY IN KUWAIT

The Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait is the first world-class tennis academy in the Middle East. Its sports facilities are in tegrated in the Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah international Tennis Complex, which includes both indoor and outdoor courts.

In 2020, Lausin y Vicente S.L. supplied the sport protections for the fence and tunnel located in the main outdoor tennis court, as well as the net divider systems, the electric dividing curtains, and the sport protections for the wall and columns located in the indoor sport facility.

This was a purely custom-made project, where our technical and commercial department demonstrated once again their ability to work always together with the customer, to ensure that an excellent product and service were provided.

As manufacturers, Lausin y Vicente S.L. can adapt - if possible - any sport equipment to your needs. Our team is here to help you equipping your sport facilities with high quality products, as well as providing an excellent service and support from the beginning until the project is completed.

STATE OF THE ART COURTS BY JUNCKERS

MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA EuroBasket 2022 was a huge suc cess! And the fact that the world's top players had the perfect stage to put on a show helped immensely. In the cities of Milan, Prague, Tbilisi, Cologne and Berlin, superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Willy and Juancho Hernangomez, Luke Doncic and Nikola Jokic performed their best on Junckers hardwood sports floors and delivered an international hoops spectacle.

Five portable courts of 3700 m² wooden sports floors and 500 litres of paint and lacquer. Made of solid beech, pre-assem bled as lightweight panels, and completed with pre-fixed bat tens, the floors provided excellent shock absorption, ball bounce and optimal player safety. The five court’s customized sponsor branding was beautifully carried out by Junckers.

"FIBA is pleased with the excellent cooperation it has had with Junckers at the EuroBasket 2022, which allowed for the opti mal performance of players during the competition. We look forward to building on this positive beginning with Junckers as it continues its preparations for the World Cup next year," said Andreas Biffiger, Head of FIBA Marketing. Junckers will continue to deliver high performing sports floors for FIBA.

Junckers CEO Lars Gjødsbøl said: "We are genuinely proud to have supplied the courts for the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 - noth ing but the best for the best in the world. We are looking for ward to supplying more top-quality sports floors for the up coming FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games basketball tournaments." The multi-event partnership will encompass FIBA’s elite international competi tions in 2023 and 2024.

Lausin y Vicente S.L. www.lausinyvicente.com

JUNCKERS INDUSTRIER A/S www.junckers.com

Photo: Lausin y Vicente

Photo: Junckers

SPACE SAVING SAFETY AT DIZZY HEIGHTS

Ball catching nets are becoming increasingly popular. A play able sports area on the roof is not only a highlight, but also saves space. It is often impossible to have playgrounds and sports fields in towns and cities due to the lack of space. Carefree and safe play at any height is possible with X-TEND stainless steel mesh. Schools and day-care centres in particu lar make use of this space advantage. The playing field can not only be surrounded with the stainless steel mesh, but also covered horizontally so that there is no risk of losing the ball when playing at dizzy heights. Both the nature of the mesh and the use of small mesh sizes stop children from climbing the structure.

Carl Stahl ARC X-TEND is a protective element which, at the same time, is a design feature. It is made entirely of stainless steel of the V4a family. In a specially developed procedure, the stainless steel cables are pressed with stainless steel ferrules to form a resilient and flexible mesh structure. X-TEND moulds itself to the desired shape of the area to be protected and adapts individually – for two- or three-dimensional applica tions.

Stainless steel safety mesh is compelling due to its stability, durability and flexibility, and has the additional advantage of being non-flammable. At the same time it is absolutely UV-re sistant. The spectators and also the athletes enjoy a perfect view. Balls fly silently into the mesh without deforming or dam aging it. It has a low self weight in relation to its load-bearing capacity and can thus be used in large expanses.

WORLD BEST TIMES AT ZURICH MEETING

World's longest mobile running track

The finals of the Wanda Diamond League in Zurich took place both in the Letzigrund Stadium and on the Sechseläutenplatz, where in just two days, Swiss track specialist Conica had built a high jump and a pole vault module along with its record breaking world’s longest mobile running track measuring 560 m.

Julio F. Fadel, Head of Marketing & Communication at Conica was responsible for the running track project at the Sechseläutenplatz: "We are very pleased with the results both in the stadium and in the city. Once again, we saw fantastic times being run and heights being surpassed on our running tracks. The particularly big challenge on Sechseläutenplatz was that Conica's usual process technique – casting/pouring in place the running track surface - could not be used because the track had to be removed smoothly and without residue right after the event. For this reason, for the 560-m-track as well as for the pole vault and the high jump, we used a Conica spray-coated running track pre-produced on mats, which were then rolled out and fixed onto the Sechseläutenplatz pavement. For the tight turns, specially conceived inclined curve ramps based on indoor facilities were produced, which offered the athletes optimal conditions for the best competi tion experience in the middle of the city."

www.carlstahl-architektur.com

CONICA AG www.conica.com

Carl Stahl ARC GmbH

Photo: Carl Stahl ARC

Photo: CONICA

Keller Tersch GmbH 39218 Schönebeck, Germany info@kellertersch.de www.kellertersch.de

Kernig Consulting GmbH 48155 Münster, Deutschland info@andreaskernig.de www.kernig-consulting.de

KRAIBURG Relastec GmbH & Co. KG 29410 Salzwedel, Germany sportec@kraiburg-relastec.com www.kraiburg-relastec.com/sportec

Hermann Kutter LandschaftsbauSportplatzbau GmbH & Co. KG 87700 Memmingen, Germany info@kutter-galabau.de www.kutter-galabau.de

Herbert Labarre GmbH & Co. KG 22337 Hamburg, Germany info@labarre-galabau.de www.labarre-galabau.de

Labosport International 72100 Le Mans, France contact@labosport.com www.labosport.com

Landskate GmbH 50823 Köln, Germany info@lndskt.de www.lndskt.de

sb 6/2022

Editorial board and publisher

IAKS

International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities Eupener Straße 70 50933 Cologne, Germany

Phone +49 (0) 221 16 80 23- 0 Fax +49 (0) 221 16 80 23-23 sb@iaks.sport www.iaks.sport

Secretary General with overall responsibility Klaus Meinel meinel@iaks.sport

Graphics

Yannik Dettmer dettmer@iaks.sport Fon +49(0)221 168023-13

International magazine for sports, leisure and recreational facilities

Editorial board and subscriptions Silke Bardenheuer bardenheuer@iaks.sport

Editorial board and marketing Thomas Kick kick@iaks.sport Fon +49(0)221 168023-12

The publisher has unlimited rights to work accepted for printing.

Reprint or duplication, even of extracts, is only permitted with the publisher‘s written consent.

Subscription price 2023 65 EUR Germany 85 EUR Other countries 12 EUR Single issue

ISSN (Print): 0036-102X ISSN (Internet): ISSN 2198-4271

Jurisdiction and place of performance: Cologne

For advertisement prices, see 2023 Media Data.

Translation/Editorial report

Tim Chafer, ExperTeam Otto-Hahn-Str. 57, 40591 Düsseldorf, Germany

Euro-Sprachendienst Jellen

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UPCOMING ISSUES

Date of publication: 28.02.2023

Date of publication: 28.04.2023

myrtha GOES GREEN WITH LEED CERTIFICATION

Myrtha Pools and sustainable building certification.

Well before protecting the environment became one of mankind’s most important challenges, Myrtha Pools was already one step ahead of the crowd. In fact, thanks to our modular stainless steel panel technology, constructing and installing a Myrtha pool significantly cuts CO2 emissions. Additionally, the reduction in energy and water consumption and the long lifespan of our swimming pools are two other attributes favourable to both the environment and to aquatic centres.

www.myrthapools.com

Vaudoise Arena, Lausanne, Switzerland photo credits Vaudoise Arena