Bocconi Sport Centre in Milan

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

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 functionality and technologies with modern and sustainable design. Maximum efficiency of the building plant system Every floor of the sport centre has balconies facing south, screened by an undulating metal mesh installed outside that creates a porous relationship with the city and ensures natural light while reducing cooling loads during the summer. Passive solutions have been adopted to reduce the heat loss from the envelope, to increase its performance 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 encircles 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 panels reduce the carbon footprint compared to other technologies. 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 internationally 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 measures 25 x 10 x 1.38 m and is intended for warm-up at competitive events, but above all for instruction and fitness activities. Split movable bulkhead Fully equipped with a split movable bulkhead and competition 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 bulkhead can be easily moved to pre-set positions. The moveable 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. Building 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 energy 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 groundwater. The water circulating in the mesh has a temperature between 7° and 15° Celsius, depending on the season (summer/winter) and therefore minimizes heat loss by being constantly 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 programmable (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 installed 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 correct 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.