Sportcomplex
Leuven, Belgium, 1998-2004

The building of the sports center is elliptical with brick walls on its external profile. These walls close in the walkways and lead them over different elevations with slow step-downs rather than quick level changes. The elevation of the walkways depends on their proximity to primary or secondary axis.
The plan is positioned symmetrically with respect to its minor axis and has two different areas with different functions.
The northern part of the arena is where basketball and volleyball activities are held as well as space for the local basketball team. It has a capacity of holding around 4,500 people and is positioned at a lower elevation of the walkway on the secondary diameter. While walking around, the games can be observed and accessed from the walkway. In this part of the arena there is a fitness gym next to the staircase for athletics of various types.
In the southern half has an olympic pool and several heated ones for games and entertainment. On the floor below are the technical rooms for the pool and an enormous underground parking lot that serves the entire area. Above are restaurants and various offices for public services. These continue even onto the next level next to the basketball court.
The two halves of the eclipse of the arena run along the secondary axis and create a void and a mall that faces the buildings. The glass skylight of the mall accentuates this formal central axis while the roof takes on a convex form.
Simple siding suggests a rational and precise construction hypothesis. The brick becomes pivotal in the formal description of manufactured goods. The brick used comes from a certain part of Belgium where other such goods are found in connection to manufacturing. Here, as in Germany, they are ideal for simple and large-scale siding when there are joints at regular intervals. The stone base encircles the building and underlines the presence of the series of civic buildings.