“ENGAWA” is the name of the winning proposal made by AIA together with BB Arquitectes, for the construction of the new Municipal Sports Complex (CEM) La Sagrera, in Barcelona. A compact, sustainable, economical, functional, flexible and energy efficient building.
The building adapts to the existing topography, and the different resulting platforms reinforce the independence of the main uses: swimming pool area (that could be covered), paddle tennis area and gymnasium area, trying to free up the maximum of exterior spaces. The volumetric proposal of the complex seeks to establish continuity with the urban structure of the block. The newly generated volumes are aligned with the street, liberating a block interior as a public and leisure space. A space that will act as a new public square, opening the facility to the neighbourhood.
The building stars in a ceramic base integrated into the dominant material of the surroundings and serves as a support for the light and compact prism that contains the sports rooms. This lightness allows for less presence in the built environment.
The main access is from the highest level of the plot, from the newly created public space that communicates with the new sports facilities of Camp del Ferro from where there is a better visual control of access. The new square favours the concentration of people at the entrance of the centre and reinforces the space with citizen activity while at the same time guarantees a greater road safety, as there is no road traffic.
On the other hand, the users of the swimming pools would be at the same street level and the members would go up to the first or second floor depending on the use. The accesses and occupation of the changing rooms are managed according to the main uses, with generous and intuitive circulations and a single vertical communication nucleus that resolves both access and evacuation. The façade of the building is designed as a virtual double façade. The outer skin is a perimeter peristyle of vertical slats placed in a different order depending on their height with respect to the building, which control and organise the incidence of natural light. The inner skin consists of a transparent enclosure to the spaces of use that allows maximum enjoyment of the natural light controlled by the exterior louvres.
Both for the architectural design and for the development of the planned facilities, flexible and highly energy-efficient solutions have been adopted to achieve almost zero consumption, with an A energy rating.
