FC Basel junior campus
Münchenstein, Switzerland
Competition 1st prize 2010
Project and execution 2011-2013
FC Basel
campus.
Overview
Architecture
Luca Selva Architekten, Basel, Switzerland
Team ZPF
Jörg Brändlin, Heike Egli-Erhart, Conor Murphy, Helmuth Pauli, Susanne Peterson, Andreas Schnetzer
Enigmatic in appearance and subtly interconnected with its location, this building, designed as a portal, has strong appeal. The funnel-shaped recessed entrance constitutes the end of an axial path that begins at St. Jakobshalle and runs along several football pitches. The goal frames, as the only recurring reference dimension in the open area, determine the measurements of the portal to the publicly accessible campus.
Closed on the outside and just selectively given rhythm by a multitude of ball-sized openings, the building only reveals its function on the inside. Its uses are arranged around a lobby with inclined concrete roof segments: a public cafe, a dining room with kitchen, a multi-purpose room and the video diagnostics facility are at ground level; the upper floor accommodates the changing rooms for the U14 to U21 players, as well as offices, therapy rooms and fitness rooms, all accessed via an outdoor flight of steps at the side.
This flat two-storey building with no underground level has a support structure made from a double skin of white exposed concrete. The inner skin was generally concreted first and the outer skin was concreted onto one side of a pressure-resistant insulation layer. The biggest technical challenge in terms of formwork and assembly was the realisation of the roof ribs above the lobby. Thanks to their geometry, they catch water and channel it off. These ribs were also made of white-cement concrete with a 2 % titanium oxide admixture. In a horizontal format with the same proportions as a football goal, plywood panels with a thickness of 15 mm and a phenolic resin coating were nailed onto conventional Doka formwork. The joints were flush-sealed.
The overall concept, including the selected materials, is geared towards durability and sustainability. In keeping with this, the building is connected to an existing composite heating system that uses renewable energy (woodchips).