The sports centre is to be located in a former industrial estate where the dense town centre gives way to a mix of large commercial buildings and small family homes.
These distinctive surroundings, combined with a spatial connection to the adjacent river and slope, give the site its character. The site is organised as a patchwork of various sports- and play facilities at a right angle to the river, punctuated by individually landscaped pathways and patios. The new sports hall is both a stalwart and an integral part of this established patchwork, standing to the east of the site.
By minimising the visible volume of the hall, the new building appears as a freestanding pavilion as far from the existing building as possible, and as low as possible. This self-evident presence is further strengthened by the design idea, which unambiguously identifies the building as a sports hall. A straightforward base idea is visible in section: the sunken hall area evokes the form of a simple vessel, while the roof acts as its lid. Four solid circulation cores support the corporeal roof and increase the sense of activity in the overall appearance. An open gap between the two vessels creates a double aspect ground floor, visually connecting to neighbouring open spaces, as well as the river and slope beyond. Structurally, the roof in conceived in timber, clad seamlessly in vertically-oriented squared timber.
In the context of the new Rietwis sports and leisure facilities, a new entrance building with bistro for the public swimming pool was built in addition to the new sports hall, at the confluence of public pathways near the Thur and the new bridge.
At such a logical, intuitive location, the kiosk acts as a meeting point around which the new quarter pulsates. In addition to the bistro, the new pavilion also combines various public pool facilities, the pool ticket office, staff rooms and a public toilet under one roof.
Team:
Architects: Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten ZT GmbH, Bregenz, AT
Contractor: ARGE Rietwis Cukrowicz Nachbaur Ghisleni, Rapperswil, CH
Overall management: Ghisleni Partner AG, Rapperswil, CH
Project and construction management: Ghisleni Partner AG, Rapperswil, CH
Subplanners: Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten AG, Zurich, CH and Merz Kley Partner GmbH Civil Engineers, Dornbirn, AT
Client: Political Municipality Wattwil, CH
Photographer: Adolf Bereuter
Materials used:
Facade cladding: Wood, fir wood planed
Concrete, exposed concrete: Glass, Solar control glass
Flooring:
Sports floor, ash strip parquet, Brand: Boflex floor
Wood parquet, ash strip parquet
Concrete, coloured, roughened, Brand: Walo
Doors: Metal and Wood
Roofing: Flat roof with gravel
Interior lighting:
Sports hall light: Zumtobel Craft S
Corridor Area: Zumtobel Panos
Interior furniture: from regional carpenters
Sports equipment: Alder + Eisenhut AG, Ebnat-Kappel, CH
The annual electricity production of the PV system covers 110% of the annual energy demand of the sports facility.
It was important for the project to use as much wood as possible from the surrounding area. Likewise, the ecological footprint could be improved with the recycled concrete in the basement. The wood is 93% certified Swiss wood (Lignum Holz) from the Toggenburg valley.
Most of the products, such as the doors and façade, were made especially for this building by regional craftspeople.
