w/ Jan Žalský, Tomáš Nováček, Daniel Rodriguez,
Vojtěch Tecl, Aneta Žvaková
Červený Kostelec, Czech Republic
2020
(INVITED COMPETITION)

The platform becomes the focus of the design. A platform that combines several important aspects for the site. A platform that, by its height, allows the school and the public to access the building independently of each other, while at the same time creating a public circulation linking two city streets. The passage - a significant element within the town of Červený Kostelec. This creates a new life. Healing the scar of a disjointed block.

What the proposed building takes away from the place, it also gives back. The demolished shed is replaced by a new one. So that, among other things, it fits into the new context of the urban whole. The felled trees will be replaced with new ones in more appropriate locations.

The optical openness of the hall creates a kind of 360-degree auditorium. As well as providing even lighting of the playing field. The glazing is transparent from the north /basically without direct sun/, east /covered by the primary school building/ and south /filtered through the entrance hall, bistro and sanitary facilities/. On the west, it is opaque, opaque, double glazed.

The size and proportions of the building were modelled on a physical model using dozens of variations. A height of 6 m plus roofing is better than 9 m plus roofing. The presented solution takes advantage of the slope. At ul. Břetislava Kafka the building is partially recessed. The level of the playing field is about 3 m below street level. And due to the slope, the difference on the southern façade between the playing field and the ground is almost zero. The platform that surrounds the rink reduces the effect of the full height of the rink towards the apartment building.  

From the outset, we have placed great emphasis on the relationship of the gym to the street. To the street, the gym brings an awning, direct contact with the action on the playing field with a pleasant overlook for the casual passerby. Around the north, west and south facades.

Student, player, referee and teacher enter the gym through the schoolyard. A bonus is the connection at the landing in front of the old gym. All necessary facilities are located at playing field level. The solution is wheelchair accessible. The fan, visitor enters from the adjacent streets or via a new pedestrian connection at a level of approx. 3.0 m above the playing field. There is an entrance hall, a stand built above the pitch, a bistro and toilets. The two levels are connected by a direct staircase. The dimensions of the playing area are 39 x 22 m plus the galleries and corridors. The columns behind the grandstand allow an unobstructed view of the game. The supply of the court is left as it is, the travelled area for the new building is proposed to be minimal. Pedestrian permeability is essential.

The material design of the building is based on the nature of the purpose. The industrial character of the building is not accidental: concrete, steel /galvanized, painted/, corrugated galvanized sheet metal, asphalt strips, rough cement plaster, steel window frames, clear, frosted glass surround the wooden playing area with precisely drawn playgrounds and underline its importance by their lack of colour.

Orthogonality as a guarantee of efficiency. The basic structural system of the hall comprises seven pairs of reinforced concrete precast columns supporting steel trusses at a distance of 8 m. This system is complemented by beams and columns for the façade. The vertical structure of the platform is made of masonry, while its ceilings/roofs are reinforced concrete monolithic.