The Fontys School of Sport Studies forms an important link in the network of sports facilities located in Genneper Parken, Eindhoven. To contribute a sense of liveliness to the 200-hectare sports park, Mecanoo designed an open, social building instead of a traditional closed hall.
The complex is the new meeting place on campus and brings together three courses in higher education that were located in Sittard and Tilburg. Around 2200 students and teachers frequent the school daily to use its state-of-the-art, professional sports facilities.
Most of the sports halls are housed on the first floor inside a sculptural brick roof that appears to hover above a transparent base of glass. This creates an open ground floor that engages dynamically with the green surroundings, invites visitors to come inside and contributes to the feeling of safety in the park.Functioning as a point of orientation for students, a transparent sports hall forms the heart of the school, its sawtooth roof admitting daylight deep into the building. A literal high point is the 15-metre-high rock climbing tower which stands like a beacon at the corner of the building.
The considered layout of the school facilitates maximum interaction between sports and education. Voids, glass and openings allow views of the sports throughout the school.
Simultaneously, the logistics for sports and education are separated, maximising the multifunctional spaces. In this way, the halls can be used before or after school hours by sports associations or for events.
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