Sport-Arena Vienna

EU-wide architectural competition, 2021

Positioning of the building

The building structure of the Arena Wien with its clear form will be exempted as an urban gesture and will stand out independently and unmistakably with its concise, two-part volume. The volumes essentially follow the geometric specifications of the sports halls, forming a composition of a lower volume oriented parallel to the Danube and an upper volume rotated by 90°.

The constellation of the thus emerging, well-balanced building structures the transitions and divides the facade fronts; together with the new long-distance bus terminal to be built, it enhances the urban city structure.
A spacious forecourt, a sports plaza, will be created. This will provide access for athletes and visitors, as well as an open, urban space that will serve as a focal point for the surrounding area.

The upper volume of the sports arena is moved to the Handelskai and thus, as an extension of the planned bar of the long-distance bus terminal, complements the urban edge to the Danube.

The cantilevered volume of the athletics hall above on both main fronts marks the entrance situation towards the square - in a generally understandable way - and creates a weather-protected access, meeting point and place to linger. Towards the main road Handelskai, towards the Danube with the Danube cycle path, the analogous appearance creates a high recognition value. The sports arena receives a concise signal effect and does justice to the importance of sports.

The individual functional areas in the sports arena are placed very consciously:

- the ball sports hall has an external reference via the circulation, both to the northeast to the Danube and to the southwest to the forecourt - with its generous external effect it is the figurehead of the sports arena.

- the gymnasium is oriented towards the park, a generous view for the - mostly young - athletes is given high priority

- multi-functional rooms and cardio, motor are oriented to the southeast and form the busy facade to the long-distance bus terminal.

The large form of the arena building is given a differentiated design with opaque or semi-transparent elements in a light colour scheme that adapts to light situations over the course of the day.
The facade design with its rhythmic repetition of concave curved elements allows a soft insertion into the green and street space. The sports arena thus has an unmistakable appearance. In addition to the design function of the façade level, its light coloration counteracts heating; due to its air flow, it creates a buffer for optimal climatic conditions.
The base building receives an earth-bound, climbing facade greening and thus counteracts the formation of Urban Heat Islands. The greened sports arena is thus integrated into the surrounding park and the green space along the Danube.

The roof surfaces of the base volume will be greened, and the roof surface of the athletics hall will be equipped with a large-scale photovoltaic system. The roof drainage of the upper hall will be collected in cisterns and used for irrigation.

Event-related lighting (events, competition, training, etc.) will emphasize the perception of the "busy" sports arena.