ETH Sport Centre, Zürich (CH)
New building

Client: ETH Zürich
Location: CH-8093 Zürich, Schaffmattstrasse 33
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller Stäheli
Competition: 2004, 1. prize
Construction: 2006 – 2009
Area: 8,060 m²
Ecology: Eco-Minergie certification
Programme: Triple sports hall with spectator stand (500 seats) and associated infrastructure, training center with rooms for strength, cardio, exercise and regeneration Users: Institute for Exercise and Sports Sciences (IBSW), university sports

Photos: Bruno Klomfar, ETH Zürich/Alessandro Della Bella (aerial view)

Team
Eva Dorn, Holger Fritz, Dietmar Geiselmann, Rafael Grups, Thomas Hämmerle, Bernhard Kraft Felix Kruck, Silvia Lau, Sven Meller, Bernd Müller, Peter Nußbaumer (Project management), Thomas Spiegel, Nina Sulger, Thomas Hämmerle, Doris Tahedi

Text: Gerlinde Jüttner

Partners
Statics: Mader & Flatz Rissi, Bregenz / SHP, Zürich
Building services: Team GMI, Dornbirn
Electrics, light: Hecht, Rankweil
Acoustics: Brüstle, Dornbirn
Building physics: Weithas, Hard
Geology: Andres, St. Gallen
Facade: Mosbacher, Schwarzach
Costs: Baudata, Schaan
Graphic guidance system: TGG Hafen Senn Stieger, St. Gallen

Awards

  • AIT Award, Nomination
  • IOC-IAKS-Award, Award
  • Sustainable Architecture Award, Award
  • Der Österreichische Baupreis, Award

Sports fields on the roof

The ETH Sport Centre is part of the new Science City on the Hönggerberg. It houses the Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport and at the same time provides all members of the university with a wide range of facilities for a broad variety of sports. The sections of the building, which are pushed deep into the slope, take away the dominance of the large volume and integrate it sensitively into the landscape.

From the outside, there is no hint of its inner life; the sports fields on the roof appear to be part of the landscape. Only the polished green crystal of the fully glazed west façades opens up completely to the campus.

Thanks to controlled ventilation, intensive use of daylight and largely recyclable building materials, which were produced with the lowest possible energy consumption, we were able to build ecologically and sustainably. As the first Minergie-Eco-certified public building in Switzerland, the sports centre meets the ETH's objective of creating highly energy-efficient facilities.

The entrance hall extends across the entire depth of the building and leads to the green ramps, which interlock the building with the landscape. The clear layout, the various views and the daylight that penetrates deep into the building all contribute to good orientation. Although largely underground, the Sport Centre is friendly and bright inside - thanks to glass partition walls, lime green surfaces and several skylight zones that let in plenty of daylight.

The glass wall provides a view of the triple sports hall two levels below, the heart of the sports centre. Grouped around this hall on the various floors are access zones, stands, cloakrooms, fitness rooms and gymnasiums. No construction or building services are visible at any point; everything is concealed behind walls clad in MDF panels.

The outdoor sports fields for football, beach volleyball and tennis are located on the roof, which merges into the terrain at ground level.

A green crystal on the outside

The dark shell stands in stark contrast to the light-coloured interior. The partly opaque, partly transparent façade made of triple insulating glazing creates the impression of an irregularly cut green crystal. The surroundings are reflected in the glazing, making the building appear to merge into the forest landscape of the hinterland.

The green, glazed shell conceals a solid construction with load-bearing ceilings, interior and exterior walls. With a span of 33 metres, the reinforced concrete girders of the main supporting structure bridge the triple sports hall, grandstand and entrance hall.

Science City Hönggerberg

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich is a technical and scientific university. Founded in 1855, it is one of the most renowned universities in Europe. Due to a lack of space in Zurich's city centre, ETH has been expanding its site on the Hönggerberg since the 1960s; the "Science City" project has been underway since the beginning of the 21st century.

The aim is to create a university campus that combines research and living in one area and is also open to the public. The "Information Science Lab" and the sports centre were completed in 2008, and student flats were built between 2013 and 2016. In May 2018, the Campus Hönggerberg 2040 masterplan was published, which envisions further buildings.

Floor plan L0
Floor plan L-1
Floor plan L1
Floor plan L2

Längsschnitt

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