The Palace of Water Sports | ARCHINFORM Architectural Bureau

THE PALACE OF WATER SPORTS

The concept of the Aquatics Palace was developed by the ARCHINFORM architectural bureau in preparation for the World Summer Universiade 2023, which was planned to be held in Yekaterinburg.

The Universiade is the largest international student sports competition organized by the International University Sports Federation FISU. For a world—class event in the Novokoltsovsky district of Yekaterinburg, a whole complex of buildings has been designed and is already being completed-the Universiade Village, which includes a large number of different facilities: the aquatics palace, a community center, an athletics stadium, dormitories for athletes, and a medical center.

Various sports grounds and recreation areas will be located on this territory – we can say that an entire city will be built with a rich sports, technical, residential and social infrastructure.

The largest and most important object of the Universiade is the Aquatics Palace, designed by the architectural firm ARCHINFORM and has no analogues in Russia! The building measures more than 100x200 m and includes three pools at once: a 25-meter diving pool, a 50-meter training pool and a 50-meter demonstration pool. Inside there are children's pools, sports and gyms, cafes and lounges for athletes. This combination of functions and scale makes the building completely unique. Russian and international level competitions, as well as athletes' training sessions, will be held here.

The DVVS is not just a sports facility, but a sports and entertainment facility. The total capacity of the stands is more than 5,000 seats. Therefore, the building has complex logistics: it takes into account the international requirements of FISU for competitions, which strictly regulate the conditions of use of this building for different categories of visitors: athletes, spectators, judges, staff. They should not overlap during the operation of the building. The project proposes a multi-level system for separating the flow of people, so there are many entrance areas around the perimeter: guest, service and technical. On the first level there are entrances to the building for athletes, judges, staff and the press. And the entrances for the audience are organized from the second tier, from open pedestrian galleries located along the extended facades.

The architectural and figurative solution of the DVVS reveals the theme of water and waves. The main volumes have large glazed surfaces. Several central facades are designed with a reverse slope, giving dynamics to the entire composition of the building. A triangular matrix of panels with a parametric fractal grid of holes forming wave-like patterns is used on large blind planes. This technique is combined with facade elements having volumetric plastics made of copper-colored 3d relief panels. The glare of water, sea foam, sand and stones are the colors and textures present in the image of the building.

Of particular importance in the design of the DVVS for the bureau was the dual purpose of this large sports building, or rather its use in the legacy mode of the Universiade. In fact, two scenarios have been developed for the use of the planning solution: when, after major international competitions, many rooms are painlessly converted into additional spaces for visitors, children's sections and wellness centers. Thus, the residents of the city receive a unique social and sports complex for the development of children's and youth sports.