New Sports Hall “P.D. Frattini”
The building represents the 3rd part of the “Seismic retrofitting and modernization Project of the P.D. Frattini first grade Secondary School”, achieved through the construction of a new school complex and a sports hall located in Via G. Vicentini, in the area called “Ex zuccherificio”.
PLANNING AND SHAPES
The new indoor sports arena is located near the secondary school, which was recently built in Legnago. The site is approximately flat and it is located at the edge of the river park of the Bussè River and its floodplain. Due to the fact that it was a former industrial area, situated close to the city’s railway station, the site has been cleared for both environmental remediation and preventive war reclamation in order to safely accommodate the new school complex.
The building is made up of two volumes: the main structure, large and tall, where the play area is located, and the secondary structure, of smaller development, where all the service rooms are located. Those two shapes interact in a process of volumetric growth where the changing room area, enveloping and semi-permeable, serves as a base for the body of the playing area. A central green courtyard is generated by the latter emerging from the former. Simple and linear volumes are elaborated in order to mitigate the introduction of the building into an already built-up area. The external claddings help to make a distinction between the uses: the ground floor has a glass and white plaster alternation, giving rise to the play area wrapped in sheet metal with draining joints, which is painted anthracite.
The volume that emerges is completely mat and linear in its own development, to recall a pure form, an archetype of the structure.
The sports hall has a double-pitch roof with orthogonal inclination to the main facade, and a ridge height of ca. 13.50 m, while the locker room unit is characterized by a flat roof of gross height ca. 3.50 m. New Gym and the existing Secondary School are linked by a permeable white canopy, in order to connect the two buildings through a covered link.
ACCESSIBLE BUILDING
The gym is created as a primary service for the school complex, and at the same time as a place open to the entire community in order to play sports activities when the school is closed. Therefore, the size and the access system were designed in order to ensure the highest level of security and availability for both subtended functions. Therefore, the mobility system was developed to also maximize the separation of user flows in order to comply with CONI guidelines for the safe conduct of competitive sports activities.
The entrance area of the sports complex is provided from the existing traffic circle and ends in a small parking area that is reserved for athletes and people with disabilities, in addition to emergency and security vehicles. Parking spaces for the public are located on the other side of the street and are connected to the area by a crosswalk.
The neat division of entrance points is supported by the high permeability of the ground floor. In fact, a careful division of mat and transparent surfaces is visible, with specific goals: the alternation of solids and voids guides the user, according to the direction from which he or she comes, to the relevant access.
The inside functions reveal themeselves on the outside, through the contrast of heights and colors, of light and dark, of walls and glazing.
LAYOUT
The sports hall is characterised by a wooden structure: the platform frame system of the locker room is in contrast with the big space of the play area, with spatial frames made of laminated wood beams and steel tubular elements. The interior finishes follow the shape of the structure so the entire sports hall is based on the triangle's theme: starting from the decomposition of a traditional Polonceau beam, the three-dimensionality of the structure involves the entire building, from the roof to the outline, surrounding the user.
The building, with a total area of approx. 1,280 m², is designed to be used both for educational purposes and for hosting CONI-compliant sports activities.
The service area consists of 4 locker rooms (2 for players and 2 for referees), the infirmary, storages, and reception areas, and also the external connecting porticoes. Particular attention has been paid to the use of colour so that each area mentioned before is identified by different colours of the floor and covering. The game area near the facilities is designed to accommodate:
- Basketball, for local competitions with maximum basketball court dimensions of 28m in length, 15m in width, and a buffer strip of 2m along the boundary including the back and sidelines. The headroom of the court, which includes the buffer strip, is over 7m.
- The volleyball court, whose dimensions are included in the previous ones. In particular, it is sized for local competitions (C or B series) with a length of 18m, width 9m, and a buffer strip which is about 3m including the back and sidelines. The headroom is over 7m. The playing field is also endowed with bleachers, whose wooden structure becomes part of the geometric and material framework of the interior space, and can accommodate up to 100 guests. There is also a barrier to separate players and spectators. The viewer's attention is immediately directed to the playing field, however the scenario is defined by the wooden spatial frame and the horizontal material bands applied to it. The first band is formed by a continuous glass wall that covers the entire length of the field, from the ground level; this solution provides the playfield a direct link to the outside, especially to the courtyard for outdoor activities. The use of daytime lighting, due to the orientation's study and the presence of the outdoor canopy, is thus maximised without creating a disturbance to the sporting activity. The acoustic cladding in black mineralised wood fibre panels begins above the glazed band. Even in this case, utility and aesthetics are combined, increasing the acoustic insulation of the play area and creating a deliberate contrast between permeable and opaque surfaces.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
The building has NZeb energy characteristics, and is certified as a “Casa Clima School”, an Italian certification for Green Buildings. The design was realised entirely in BIM, according to GM's ISO 9001 Quality Management processes, which were also applied in the work execution. An aseismic structure building (Use Class IV) was developed according to Italian regulation “NTC 2018”; that means that it will be able to provide civil protection activities in case of natural disasters. In details:
- Structures. The design goes beyond the concept of a simple structure, thus the load-bearing elements are involved in the architectural composition, creating patterns and movement. It is a complex structure fitted to a relatively simple combination of volumes. The main structural framework of the building consists of double-section laminated timber pillars that are stuck in the ground and connected to the reinforced concrete foundation structures with plates and anchor bolts. The main roof system is formed by spatial cross trusses using the polonceau static system, with hot-dip galvanised steel pipe frames protected with intumescent paint, and secondary roof purlins anchored to the main beams. This system makes possible the maximisation of the width of the playing field using light-looking elements: users perceive a very well balanced space, which envelops them and does not overwhelm them. The main load-bearing structure of the locker room/office building is separated from the sports hall volume by a seismic joint, and consists of platform-frame load-bearing walls and secondary roof purlins anchored to the main beams and walls. Several strategies have been applied to keep the water away from the timber structures (infiltration and condensation), in order to guarantee maximum durability against tear and wear over time.
- Systems. The building is almost zero energy (NZeb), in compliance with the national 2017 Minimum Environmental Criteria. The sports hall is also a pioneering building for energy-environmental sustainability: the design was based on the Casa Clima School protocol. In other words, the building is highly energy-efficient, and it uses alternative energy sources: a photovoltaic park integrated into the pitched roof of 32 kWp is used to supply the heat pumps, and solar thermal panels with 8 absorption modules provide hot water for the locker room area. A central unit with a 90 kW reversible electric thermal air/air heat pump powered by the PV park is located outside the building, in a not visible area. The heating of the play area is guaranteed by a radiant floor panel system. The mechanical controlled ventilation is characterised by heat recovery units with 90% efficiency. In addition, the lighting system is entirely developed with LED lamps, in compliance with the lux required by CONI for the game area; there is also a video surveillance system. The building is characterised by a BACS B and BMS management system. The efficiency of the facility systems is combined with an excellent quality of the building envelope, which disperses very little energy thanks to high-performance stratigraphy that combines insulating panels and wood with low-transmission glazing coupled with low-emissivity layers.
