The Ripoll sports centre designed by MH.AP + Sergi Serrat consists of a low-rise brick building with a gabled roof under which the changing rooms and trainers' rooms are located, whose structure is based on a modular system of wooden trusses supported on the walls and which have access to both facades, facilitating the entry and exit of visitors and providing greater lighting and ventilation.
The height of the volume changes to achieve a larger space that contains the multipurpose room that communicates with the rest of the spaces, such as the double exterior corridors that allow a perimeter circulation covered by an eave, protecting those who pass through them from possible inclement weather, or the semi-covered area between the changing rooms and the multipurpose room that also serves as a shaded access to the field.
Ripoll, sports centre by MH.AP + Sergi Serrat. Photograph by Pol Masip.
Project description by MH.AP + Sergi Serrat
Winning proposal in collaboration with Sergi Serrat for the construction of the new changing rooms and multi-use space for a sports centre in Ripoll, a small village in Catalonia surrounded by mountains. The complex already had a distinctive character, shaped by the buildings around the football field, such as the stands, the bar, and two other structures. Our intention was not to create an element that stood apart from this existing configuration, but rather to incorporate a new neighbor that felt part of the ensemble.
One of the key aspects of the proposal is its optimisation. This strategy, driven by initial budget constraints and further challenged by the post-pandemic crisis in resources and prices, drove us to design a building based on repetition, material efficiency, and trustworthy construction techniques to reduce waste.
Following the horizontal proportion of the low brick building on the opposite side of the field, we designed a long floor plan divided into two volumes. The gabled roof houses the locker rooms and coaches' rooms, with entrances on both sides. This roof then rises in height, transitioning to a single slope to create a larger space that accommodates the multipurpose room. Double exterior corridors allow for perimeter circulation under an overhang.
The roof of the locker rooms is supported by a modular system of wooden trusses resting on brick walls. In the multipurpose room, we mitigated wind loads by incorporating steel tension rods into a portal frame system, which allowed us to reduce the column sections and lower construction costs. The semi-covered area between the locker rooms and the multipurpose room serves as a shaded access to the football field.
