Sports and Cultural Center by Nieto Sobejano
08/03/2017.
Complexe intercommunal sportif et culturel [Reignier-Esery] France
metalocus, OLGA SVISHCHEVA
metalocus, OLGA SVISHCHEVA
Description of the project by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos
In a process of abstraction in which the landscape is objectified to become architecture, Sport and Culture Center of Reignier-Esery arises from the integration of a communal program inserted in the proximity of the abrupt landscape of the Alps foothills.
The genius loci of Reignier-Esery, characterized by the small scale of its buildings - protected by steeply sloped roofs with mortar plinths -, influences the architectural language of the proposal, whose materials and volumes are in clear dialogue with the urban and landscape context of the location.
The building belongs to the landscape: it emerges and merges with it. The cultivated fields with their rounded and regular aligned geometries construct the very own formal language that is adopted by the new building.
The roof is the main element of the project. Its serrated profile is perceived from the distance as a characteristic gesture that evokes the surrounding landscape and becomes an icon of the city. Roof´s changes of direction compose a dynamic geometry that is related indirectly to the Alps traditional roofs and to the mountains themselves. The fragmentation of the ridge sequences avoids creating an impression of a large built volume and establishes a dialogue with smaller scale elements.
The program includes a sports pavilion, several covered tennis and paddle courts and a multifunctional auditorium, all under one roof. The new adjoining landscape design integrates the surrounding green spaces as a footprint of the local cultural landscape.
Fuensanta Nieto (Madrid 1957) and Enrique Sobejano (Madrid 1957), are graduated architects by the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM) and Master of Science in Building Design por la Graduate School of Architecture and Planning (GSAPP), Columbia University, New York (USA). Are partners of the office Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, with headquarters in Madrid and Berlín.
Enrique Sobejano is Design Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin (Germany) and Fuensanta Nieto Fuensanta is an Design Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the Universidad Europea de Madrid. Both have been guest professors and lecturers at various universities and institutions within and outside Spain. From 1986 to 1991 was Director of ARQUITECTURA magazine, of Official College of Architects of Madrid.
Sobejano Nieto's work has been published in numerous magazines and books in Spanish and international, such as Casabella, METALOCUS, The Sketch, Architectural Review, Domus, Architectural Record, Detail, A + U, etc, and has been exhibited, among other places, Venice Biennale (2000, 2002, 2006) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York (2006). They have received the National Award for Restoration of the Ministry of Culture (2008), the Nike Prize BDA (Bund Deutscher Architekten) (2010) and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2010).
Among his recent works include Madinat al Zahra Museum (Córdoba), Moritzburg (Germany), Colegio de San Gregorio (Valladolid) and the Conference Centres of Mérida and Zaragoza.
NIETO SOBEJANO ARQUITECTOS: http://www.nietosobejano.com