summary completes grandstand football training complex in aver

Grandstand Building in Aveiro, Portugal

A new training complex beside the Aveiro Municipal Stadium in Portugal, the Grandstand Building explores the possibilities of prefabricated modular construction for an understated, socially inclusive design. Portuguese architecture studio SUMMARY completes this minimalist football training facility with a simplistic visual language and a sombre material palette defined by geometric concrete forms and vibrant splashes of the team’s iconic yellow,

Integrating quietly within its surrounding context, the Grandstand Building positions four playing fields around a core facility which conceals amenities within and houses an open, social layer atop. Here, the local community can gather and participate in a shared love of the sport.

all images by Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

an understated, socially inclusive design

Created as a support structure for the neighboring Aveiro Municipal Stadium, the Grandstand Building comprises four football pitches and complementary amenities to host practices and official games for younger teams. Porto-based SUMMARY condensed all functions condensed into a single building, with the public stands overlooking the playing pitches to each side and the remaining programmatic functions housed underneath.

The social layer created by the stands sits atop the technical functions, unraveling public life and fostering a sense of community shared over a love of the game. By fusing all functions and the two public grandstands into a single unit, the program optimizes public circulation and reduces building materials, costs and construction time.

vibrant accents distinguish public access areas from private ones and enliven the space

SUMMary marks the structure with the team’s iconic yellow

The architects at SUMMARY strongly intertwine the structure’s general image with its constructive system. The building’s materiality, specifically the use of untreated concrete, removes the need for additional finishings and reduces costs while imbuing an understated character sensitive to its context. Throughout, color is used sparingly and only appears as vibrant accents to create a strong aesthetic effect and symbolically distinguish public access areas from private ones. A deep, bold yellow recalls the colors of the team and guides visitors’ circulation around the space.

The Grandstand Building’s construction is integrally based on precast concrete elements, allowing for a higher quality, more efficient and more cost effective building process. Further, employing bioclimatic resources such as openings that potentiate cross-ventilation, the use of active means like solar panels and other energy efficient solutions continue to contribute to a substantial reduction of the building’s long-term operating costs.

SUMMARY makes use of a sombre material palette defined by geometric concrete forms