African Design Magazine December 2015 | Page 87

Feature Sports architecture Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena This Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena was built for the Winter Olympic Games in 1998. The arena was supposed not only to serve as a first-class competition centre, but also to provide Nagano’s citizens with facilities for normal sports and leisure activities. In addition, maximum flexibility was called for to stage a wide range of events. The impression of the interior of 216 x 80 m Read more here National Aquatics Centre The 70 000m² National Aquatics Center in Beijing by CSCE, PTW, CCDI and Arup had become well-known as the Water Cube long before the Olympics. It forms the heart of the Olympic Park together with the Olympic Stadium opposite. The façade of the Water Cube is clad with 3,000 different-sized, bluetinted air cushions made of ETFE. Their arrangement is modelled on the natural Read more here Oberhaching College of Physical Education Oberhaching College of Physical Education was jointly planned by Helmut Blöcher Architects and Krawinkel Engineers. The 220 000m² facility with its only twostorey buildings blends excellently into its surroundings. By lowering the voluminous building into the ground, the design has succeeded in keeping the building complex R ead more here africandesignmagazine.com 87