The Neumatt Sports Hall is a multifunctional threefold sports hall in the Swiss township of Strengelbach. Designed by Evolution Design AG in Zurich, the sports hall is well-integrated into the Neumatt school complex, consisting of school buildings from various periods of origin. A building with which the entire community can identify, the newly constructed sports hall is embedded in the landscape in the form of a terrace, and offers attractive areas for relaxation far from any kind of sports activity, with its forecourt, sitting steps, and green terraces.
Though home to three sports areas, the Neumatt Sports Hall features manageable dimensions, a result of the optical division of the building’s construction in two horizontal volumes. The somewhat larger ground floor block has a green roof area, which also serves as a connection to the spectator gallery on the upper floor. Completely plastered, this lower part of the building features generously dimensioned floor-to-ceiling windows that loosen up the shell in the reception area.
The architects have designed the sports hall around the young user, with the plastered frames of the windows painted in a fresh yellow to liven up the façade. The colour schemes used in the interior of the building not only add a colourful vibe but also serve a functional purpose. These include the hall on the ground floor glowing in shades of green in various hues and intensity, which extend to the floors, walls and doors; the locker rooms’ colour scheme influenced by the field markings of various games and the exposed surface painted in a different colour for each locker room; and colour scheme repeated in the hall for orientation and identification. The use of colours in the design lends the building a vivid effect in the evening, too, when the glow of the fresh green can be seen from the outside through the glass body.
During the day, the hall and gallery are illuminated by natural light. Equipped with light-diffusing OKALUX K insulating glass all around, the post and mullion constructed top enables a glare-free, even flooding of natural daylight into the hall. Only the lower glazing on the north-west façade along the spectator gallery was carried out in a partially transparent manner to allow for views.
The required sun protection was integrated in the glass construction by the direct insertion of the capillary inlay. The architects not only fulfilled all the challenging requirements for the sports hall concerning light transmission, privacy, UV, heat and noise protection, but were also able to provide an eye-catching architectural design.
The Neumatt Sports Hall was honoured with the A’Design Award Silver in 2016.
OKALUX K insulating glass is available in Australia from Architectural Glass & Cladding.
Image: In the evening, the glow of the fresh green can be seen through the glass body giving the building a striking appearance.
