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Chabanne & Partenaires Architectes' Stéphane Diagana Athletics Centre now open
A new 11,385 sq m sports centre has opened in Lyon, France as part of the regeneration of the local area. Located between Rosa Parks Avenue and Schoelcher Street on one of three hills of Lyon, the sports centre was opened in October 2012 and designed by the French architectural firm Chabanne et Partenaires Architectes.
With a seating capacity of 2,000, the project has a distinctive curved shape which reflects 'the speed of the race and the movement of the track'. The building is also covered, on all sides, in a curved ‘skin’ which was chosen to create a volumetric continuity and uniform colour. As part of the new building’s facilities, there are several athletic tracks including a 6-lane 200m track and an 8-lane 60m track.
There are also dedicated area for other athletic disciplines within the complex, including a high jump area, pits for long jump and triple jump and spaces for pole vaulting and shotput. The interior space is simple, with the sporting facilities on the first floor and the public seating area on the second floor. The space was designed to be versatile and can be reconfigured to host a variety of events, including gymnastics, martial arts and boxing.
Bernard Amsalem, Chairman of the French Athletics Federation, has praised the design commenting that the fantastic facilities will provide athletes with opportunities for both training and competitions. This project is just one of a series of schemes to improve and extend the sporting facilities throughout France, with Chabanne et Partenaires Architectes also currently working on athletic stadiums in Rennes and Saint-Brieuc in France.
Naomi Wilcock
Editorial
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