Radionica Arhitekture creatives shares with us their proposal for the much talked about competition for design of Collider Activity Center in Sofia which won one of the five first prizes. More images and architects’ description after the break.
From the Architects:
In the large fun park in the suburbs of Sofia we build a small artificial "mountain". In it's surroundings it is an "island mountain" or Uluru as Australian natives called the large lonely red stone in his desert. To the Aborigines Uluru is a holy place and they never climb on it. Our "island mountain", let us call it Uluru 2 for the time being, has exactly the opposite function. It's purpose is to be climbed constantly.
Therefore it has got a glass umbrella in order to be functional while heavy rain or snow falling. At night when the area under the umbrella is light upon by spotlights, this little mountain or big rock is transformed into a lighthouse visible from all over Sofia.
But, this is still not a "meteor", but a building. It's three basic layers are open in front of us like when you are peeling off an onion. The first, outer layer is the "envelope", the glass façade.
That is the raincoat which protects climbers from extreme weather conditions like extreme cold or heat, rain, snow, strong wind and sun.
When external conditions are favorable, the facade opens and the internal atmosphere becomes external. The second layer is the hall, a kind of a "cytoplasm". The space between the façade and the climbing surface.This is the place of enterance, where the building and the park mix, the site of overlapping where all paths intersect.
Here, people come to climb the building or just hang around on the terraces of the "stone roof" and watch others climb. The third, the inner layer is the "core", composed of specialized spaces linked by elevators and stairs from the restaurant at the bottom to the bar on the top.
At certain places these assemblies bridge the hall and exit on the facade in order to allow the visitors or employees natural lighting, ventilation, or just a look outside.
The building has a simple "low-tech" steel supporting structure above ground, and a reinforced concrete structure below ground. The underground garage will be dimensioned according to the actual needs for parking spaces.
Technology necessary for functioning of the outdoor pool is located in the northern part of the basement. The solar collectors located on the roof, as well as the all other energy solutions enable maximum sustainability of the building which will be resolved in the second phase of design.
The Walltpia Sofia / Uluru 2 building is the dominating element of the park in which a series of proposed and other elements will significantly improve the use of free time in the city. Uluru from the desert has become part of an oasis.
Project: Sofia Climbing Center
Designed by Radionica Arhitekture
Project Team: Fani Frkovic, Vedrana Ivanda, Domagoj Ivanovic, Bruno Kostanic, Iva Pejic, Goran Rako, Josip Sabolic
Plot Floor Area: 22 220 m2
Gross Area: 9 000 m2
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Website: www.radionica-arhitekture.hr
