Competition 2st. prize, September 2010
Location: Velenje, Slovenia
Client: Velenje City Council
Area: 140,000sqm
Architect: Boris Bezan + Mónica Juvera
The Slovenian town of Velenje is undergoing a transformation from an industrial to a creative city. The new sport centre is a key manifestation and facilitator of that change. Starting from that central point of view, the proposal helps to re-evaluate the entire region of Šaleška valley and its image in the public eye.
The landscape surrounding Velenje is in a state of perpetual change. As a consequence of an abandoned mining industry, large parts of terrain have sunk, creating an undulating surface. It is this landscape that forms a central theme in the project. Both the buildings and the open surfaces are seamlessly integrated into it, taking advantage of lakes, woods and groves already present on the site, visually joining all activities and making the complex attractive to the widest group of users, thereby establishing the centre not only as a site for sports activity, but as a place of physical, spiritual and social well-being.
The design of individual buildings follows through with this idea. The expansive roofs of the new volumes merge with the topography of the site, continuing its soft curves. At the same time, they are carefully designed to provide regulation of light and air, minimizing the need for artificial heating, cooling and lighting. The interior spaces are planned for maximum flexibility of use, allowing them to host a number of non-sports uses, making the sports centre simultaneously more financially feasible and more integrated into the life of the community.
Location: Velenje, Slovenia
Client: Velenje City Council
Area: 140,000sqm
Architect: Boris Bezan + Mónica Juvera
The Slovenian town of Velenje is undergoing a transformation from an industrial to a creative city. The new sport centre is a key manifestation and facilitator of that change. Starting from that central point of view, the proposal helps to re-evaluate the entire region of Šaleška valley and its image in the public eye.
The landscape surrounding Velenje is in a state of perpetual change. As a consequence of an abandoned mining industry, large parts of terrain have sunk, creating an undulating surface. It is this landscape that forms a central theme in the project. Both the buildings and the open surfaces are seamlessly integrated into it, taking advantage of lakes, woods and groves already present on the site, visually joining all activities and making the complex attractive to the widest group of users, thereby establishing the centre not only as a site for sports activity, but as a place of physical, spiritual and social well-being.
The design of individual buildings follows through with this idea. The expansive roofs of the new volumes merge with the topography of the site, continuing its soft curves. At the same time, they are carefully designed to provide regulation of light and air, minimizing the need for artificial heating, cooling and lighting. The interior spaces are planned for maximum flexibility of use, allowing them to host a number of non-sports uses, making the sports centre simultaneously more financially feasible and more integrated into the life of the community.