This new Sports Hall, a project which is emblematic, sustainable and perfectly integrated into the site, accommodates all spatial requirements linked to each sport under one banner. Ateliers A+ wished to carry out a clear project with simple operations and evident access, with the ambition of creating a place of community, friendliness and integration from this new public equipment.
The style is organic and gentle, and gives structure to the public space. The design is inventive, it is inspired by Nîmes’s rich textile history. The harmonisation of volumes and the use of the curve on the façade in the image of a sheet of fabric is not random. Beyond the guiding lines and rectangular shapes of the site plan, the curve naturally directs and invites users to enter the building. Here and there, the folds of the fabric reveal vegetation which brings lightness and forms a protection.
The architecture is strongly contemporary, the volumes worked on to flee the building’s functional expression in favour of the symbolic act, a strong signature for a recognised sporty complex. This modernity values both the city and athletes, it presents and gives you desire.
The project seriously takes the building’s environment into account. The establishment and organisation of the complex are the result of an urban reflection combined with a bioclimatic approach. All the indoor spaces are marked by the omnipresence of the wood. With a mesh structure, a crossed solid beam structure, a false ceiling, acoustic wall facing and interior joinery. The wood warms the indoor atmosphere and displays the construction’s low carbon commitment in a strong visual symbol. The energy strategy occurs underground with the geothermal installation under the building, on the roof with the photovoltaic installation and in the plant rooms, is discretely integrated into the façades with its openings which authorise the nocturnal hyperventilation, and is also demonstrated with the smart juxtaposition of materials with strong thermal inertia at ground level.
At the end of the competition, when night falls, the Hall celebrates the victory of sport. At night, its fabric lights up like a constellation. A luminous fabric sail, a sky lantern, a magical vessel with inflated glittering sails at night, this architecture is a party which lasts. A place of hope and victory.
Spatial organisation
In figures
18 sporting associations
11 disciplines
5 rooms
Capacity: 2500 people
Technical specifications sheet
Project: Construction of a sports complex accommodating 11 disciplines within 5 rooms (fencing, fighting, omnisports, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic and sporting gymnastics - climbing) with a multipurpose room, a huge entrance hall, shared spaces (medical area, ETAPS (local educator of physical and sporting activities) office, laundry room, meeting room) and a main terrace.
Global environmental approach: bioclimatic design, energy saving, renewable and sustainable energy, water saving, reasoned choice for construction materials, acoustic management, work site management, maintenance, performance and durability of energy performances.
+ E3C1 - Positive Energy Building
+ Wood framework walls and 3D wood structure
+ Photovoltaic panels
Contracting authority: City of Nîmes
Contracting authority assistant: Solutions Conseils/CBE
Location: Nîmes (France)
Project team: Ateliers A+, Epsilon GE, IB2M, Acoustic Technologies Midi
Task: architectural design (contracting authority basic law), executing project manager/OPC (Scheduling, Pilotage and Coordination), construction cost assessment, thermal and fluid studies, CSSI
Surface Area: 8700m2 floor surface area/Exterior spaces: 2226m2
Photos © Camille Gharbi
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