The existing sports complex houses diverse constructions from different periods and typologies, leading to disorder and a difficult understanding of the facility. The proposed intervention (heated swimming pool) aims to create a neutral structure that establishes a certain order within the complex, also serving as access control to all facilities.
A single volume is designed with an exposed galvanized steel Tramex enclosure, which reinterprets traditional lattices that allow one to see without being seen, concealing the interior and revealing the city to users, and also serving as a solar control element. The continuous cladding makes the building appear to the observer with a different character depending on the incidence of light: a dense and opaque volume is perceived when viewed from the south, while if observed from the river walk located to the north, the volume dematerializes.
The continuous cladding makes the building appear to the observer with a different character depending on the incidence of light: a dense and opaque volume is perceived when viewed from the south, while if observed from the river walk located to the north, the volume dematerializes, as it does at night.
The lattice protects the building from unwanted solar radiation in summer on all its facades, and allows 50% of incident radiation to be captured by the south facade in winter, which contributes to reducing thermal loads and, therefore, energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
The proposed section also contributes to reducing demand: the main volume, where the pool is located, opens to the south and is protected from the north by the service volume, which in turn has a gallery on the north facade that acts as a “cushion” against the exterior. The east and west facades, as well as the roof, are double-layered, with insulating panels (Heraklith) located on the interior, which contribute to improving both thermal and acoustic comfort.
The designed installations integrate renewable energies as the basis of the project: hot water production for changing rooms and the pool is resolved with solar panels and a biomass boiler, so that in the annual operating cycle, the saving in CO2 emissions exceeds 75% compared to a conventional installation (237 tons of CO2 are no longer emitted per year).