CLOUD Sports hall ‘Rijschool’, located in the Rijschoolstraat, is very dated, dark, unappealing and insufficient to fulfil the needs of the sports clubs and schools that regularly use it. Its Potemkin front is the fourth wall enclosing a square that is surrounded by otherwise beautiful neoclassical facades. The buildings two lengthwise walls are a bit of a peculiarity. They are one meter thick full brick walls. The exercise was to design new sports facilities, leaving the question of building new versus renovating open. I decided to keep the massive walls and work within the frame they provide.
A new volume nestles itself between the walls. It is lightweight and airy in contrast with the mass of the brick. It gets raised from the ground, hereby creating a large plaza underneath. This plaza forms an extension to the square in front of the building. It is a space that offers shadow and coolness in summer, protection from rain and wind in winter, but more than that it can also be a market place as well as a venue for concerts or street theatre. The building contains three halls. One is a small studio ideal for ballet, dance, yoga, etc. The other two are bigger and higher spaces facilitating sports like volleyball, basketball, badminton, indoor football, etc. Spectators can watch from the stands, the raised gallery or the cafeteria. Furthermore an office space and multiple locker rooms have also been included in the design. The brick walls were extended so that elevator shafts and storage rooms could be incorporated.
Sports hall ‘Rijschool’ in its current state.
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Floor plans: 1 entrance 6 office 2 stage 7 Big sports hall 3 backstage 8 Small sports studio 4 closable bar 9 gallery 5 changing room 10 cafetaria Longitudinal section shows the relation between the square in front of the sports hall and the covered plaza underneath it.
Conceptual model.