Vaguely remeniscent of Paul Andreu’s Roissy Airport in form, this smart looking building is Idea Image Institute Architect’s design for a new gymnasium in Yongjia, China.
Incorporated into the program is the central gymnasium, capable of seating up to 4,500 people for event functions; a swimming pool with both competition and practice lanes, complete with its own seating accommodations for 660 people; and courts for badminton, basketball and tennis.
Courtesy Idea Image Institute of Architects
The program is targeted not only towards serving organized sports, but also at offering the local residents an enjoyable and well-outfitted place for recreation and exercise.
The architects note that due to local flooding concerns, the gym has been designed being set up on pilotis. This element, one of Corbu’s Five, is worth taking note of here. Too often, it seems that pilotis are used as a ‘set piece’.
Courtesy Idea Image Institute of Architects
Somehow they always seem to be a little too reminiscent of those which appear on Villa Savoye. These pilotis are their own character. A delightful combination between slanted and skew and impressively massive pier-like twins which support the main longitudinal mass, the gymnasium is held up by its own element, not merely a copy off of Le Corbusier’s.
Courtesy of Idea Image Institute Architects