anna noguera + javier fernández clad barcelona sports center in green façade

arquitectura anna noguera and javier fernández have completed a new sports center in barcelona‘s turó de la peira quarter, integrating it into the surrounding garden through a green façade that minimizes its overall impact. the project, which was chosen by the barcelona city council from an architectural competition in 2014, combines two overlapping large spaces; a heated swimming pool on the ground floor and sports court on the upper floor. by concentrating the two facilities in a single building, the local architects have allowed for more free space, which it has formed into a lush open garden.

all images by enric duch

barcelona’s turó de la peira quarter is characterized by an abundance of low-cost social housing from the ’60s and a high density of buildings, where a lack of green areas and a shortage of public facilities is evident. within this context, arquitectura anna noguera and javier fernández developed the new sports facility as a single building of permeable surfaces that promotes social relationships. placed half-buried, the building adapts to the topography, bridging the difference in level between the two streets that surround it. the façade to sant isle street has an urban character, with a corner porch that extends the sidewalk and invites visitors to enter. at the same time, its impact on the garden is minimized with a green wall that wraps around the remaining sides, which acts more as an element of the garden, providing quality of life and supporting biodiversity.

the project places special emphasis on the perceptions that the space transmits to the user. the natural lighting, the vegetation and the use of wood provide a warm atmosphere, away from the coldness of other similar facilities. a green skin surrounds the building, protecting it from the sun and creating a bioclimatic space. the plantation system is hydroponic, chosen for its lightness, the durability of the substrate, the capacity of water retention and ease of installation. from the court, the entire green facade is perceived through the curtain wall, enjoying its flowering changes according to the time of the year.

the design of the building has been carried out with passive architecture criteria. the compact and embedded volume in the ground minimizes the façade surface, avoiding thermal losses, while the climatic conditioning and ventilation of the court take place exclusively with natural systems. 24 skylights and lateral windows monitored by sensors, ensure proper cross-ventilation and lighting, while the thermal insulation of the whole enclosure has been selectively treated according to solar orientation.

the excellent characteristics of the wood concerning its lifecycle were one of the reasons for choosing to build the structure in 100% prefabricated laminated wood. it was also assessed its good mechanical performance, its adequacy to the environment of the pool, its lightness and consequent savings in the foundations and its short construction time (8 weeks). last, a large tank located in the basement collects the water from the roof for recycling and use for the entire irrigation of the green facade through a hydroponic system. in the garden’s site development, draining strips at the bottom of the slopes collect rainwater to return it to the water table.