A design by the OV architect studio has been announced as the winner of an architectural competition to choose a design for a new sports hall for cyclists and athletes in the Za Luzankami leisure complex in the Ponava district.
The winning design, chosen by an expert jury, features a velodrome as a wooden pavilion, open towards the city and naturally connected to the adjoining park. The competition was organised by the Brno City Architect’s Office (KAM), and the results were approved yesterday by Brno City Council. The public will be able to see the future appearance of the sports hall and other competition designs, including physical models, at an exhibition in the gallery on the ground floor of the KAM building in Zelný trh at the turn of February and March.
According to Brno mayor Marketa Vankova, the new facility will be the only indoor area for athletes in Brno, and the city hopes that it will also serve as a national cycling centre. “The winning design from OV architects is dynamic, transparent, minimizes the built-up area and is sensitively placed within the green space,” she added. “The all-wood construction of the building has the ambition to become a visually memorable element of the stadium.”
The architects of the winning design, Jiří Opočenský, Štěpán Valouch, Ondřej Králík and Norbert Lichý, noted that the area between Sportovní and Drobného has the opportunity to again become a central sports hub for the city. They perceive Sportovní as a border between block development and park space with individual buildings and sports facilities. For this reason, they said, they conceived the velodrome building as a solitary structure with a distinctive external geometry that does not create a street front, but connects the park with the urban structure.
“The main reason for the construction of the new sports hall is the absence of high-quality indoor training facilities for track cycling throughout the Czech and Slovak Republics, and also for athletes from all over the region,” said Tomáš Aberl, Brno city councillor for Sport, who was a member of the jury. “”There is a lack of facilities that would meet UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) standards, enable the preparation of the national team and talented youth for top international competitions, and at the same time provide space for organizing track cycling races.”
He added that the project would add a new impulse to making Lužánky an iconic place of Brno sport. “The area, which has been neglected for years, is to become a center of movement, competitions and meetings. Combining the velodrome and athletics into one building means not only cost savings, but above all a modern and efficient concept of sports buildings – practical, sustainable and visually attractive,” he said.
Of the 28 entries, the jury selected eight designs for the shortlist. “In the complex debates of the competition jury, the architectural design of the hall corresponding to the dynamics of its main function was preferred from these eight proposals,” said Jan Tesárek, director of KAM. “The location itself, Ponava, was chosen with regard to its sports history, compliance with the new zoning plan and convenient transport connections.”
KAM is also organizing the first ever competitive dialogue for the revitalization of the entire Ponava area, which will be followed by a subsequent zoning study. The City of Brno will thus gain a clearer vision of the development of the district, with an emphasis on current trends in sustainability, ecology and transport.
