SPORTS HALL GORENJA VAS

LOCATION
Gorenja vas, Slovenia

CLIENT
Občina Gorenja vas - Poljane

PROJECT YEAR
2017 - 2019

ARCHITECTURE OFFICE
Ravnikar - Potokar arhitekturni biro d.o.o.

ARCHITECTURE
Robert Potokar, Javier Carrera Arias, Janez Brežnik

PHOTOS
Virginia Vrecl

The new sports hall in Gorenja Vas occupies the site of the former gymnasium, which had become too small and outdated to meet the needs of the primary school and the local community. The volume of the hall is positioned next to the main entrance on the northern façade of Ivan Tavčar Primary School. Built in the 1970s, the school complex forms a prominent spatial landmark at the top of the settlement.

The multi-purpose hall, with spectator stands and all the necessary ancillary spaces, primarily serves the primary school’s need for covered sports facilities, while also being available to external users in the afternoons. Its three-part configuration allows for a wide range of uses and enables different programmes and activities to take place simultaneously. The flexibility of the architectural design accommodates not only cultural events, but also a variety of other social and sporting activities.

The hall is constructed entirely from timber structural elements, with timber-framed external joinery and a solid timber façade cladding. The partially sunken ground floor is constructed in reinforced concrete. The building is designed according to sustainable principles as a nearly zero-energy building, with particular attention also given to accessibility and inclusivity for socially vulnerable groups, including children, elderly residents and people with disabilities.