It’s almost time for the 2024 Summer Olympics to begin. 100 years after it last hosted the games, Paris is once again home to the iconic sporting event and just one large-scale permanent building has been created for the occasion: an aquatic sports center that’s defined by an stunning curving concave wooden roof and boasts impressive sustainability features.
The Aquatics Centre Paris 2024 was designed by VenhoevenCS and studio Ateliers 2/3/4, and is located in the Saint-Denis district of the French capital. It will be used to host the diving, water polo and synchronized swimming competitions for the Olympic Games and as a swim training facility for the Paralympic Games.
The roof itself is very impressive, with a span of 89 m (291 ft) and a curving concave form. This isn’t just to make it look attractive, but actually has a practical reason too. The idea is that it reduces the volume of air inside, correspondingly minimizing the level of air-conditioning required to deal with the humidity that’s inevitable in a swimming pool. Timber was also used on the glazed sections of the exterior to provide shading. Though the building does incorporate concrete, its main structural elements are timber.
“The structural elements of the sports hall are made entirely of wood, using a unique and unexpected system that creates the magic of the space: the roof is supported by long- span tensioned wooden beams, which in turn are supported by oblique laminated timber posts,” explains VenhoevenCS. “This structural feat combines volumetric efficiency (less air to heat in the hall) with the striking architectural dynamism of the project. It also allows structural, acoustic and aesthetic constraints to be resolved in a single gesture, within a simple, thin and light construction system: the roof rises, it flies. On the outside, the pre-grained Douglas fir lamellas wrap the building, providing acoustic, ventilation and solar protection, while offering a sheltered space.”
Simon Guesdon
The center’s interior hosts two swimming pools, a diving pool, a fitness area, a free climbing zone, a tennis section and pitches for team sports. Its 5,000 spectator seats are made from recycled plastic and 90 percent of the center’s energy comes from renewable sources, a significant amount of which is sourced directly from its solar panel array which is tucked away on the roof.
We’ve no word on the panels’ capacity, but VenhoevenCS says that the solar array is the largest urban solar farm in France. Additionally, the roof features a rainwater collection system and 50% of water used throughout the building will be recycled.
With one eye on the future, the center’s design is very modular and following the end of the event, its 5,000 seats will be converted to a more manageable 2,500. It will then open to the wider public in 2025 and host neighborhood events.
Simon Guesdon
The Aquatics Centre Paris 2024’s landscaping is significant too and over a hundred different trees and shrubs have been planted which are are made up of local species like pine, oak, maple and rowan. The project also involved the creation of a new pedestrian bridge.
Source: VenhoevenCS
