Li Yang and Xu Haifeng · CLIENT: Zhoyu
Nanbu Eye is a gymnasium built beside the Jialing River. The building covers 22,000 square meters and reaches 32 meters in height. The upper floor holds an indoor basketball arena with a capacity of 3,000 people. The lower floor is a civic sports center with a 50 meter swimming pool and rooms for badminton, table tennis, fitness and yoga. A jewel-like structural system carries a dome with a span of 90 meters. A curved ribbon of colorful aluminum plates provides shading and encloses a public square, and cuts in the surface form three panoramic corridors along the water.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Located by the Jialing River, this gymnasium achieves harmony, openness and interaction with nature. The design is carried out from the three core concepts of earthscape, integration and openness. The overall project is conceived as an earthscape, just like a picture scroll in one stroke along the Jialing River. The city and nature are merged together, the architecture and landscape are integrated, a continuous spatial sequence is formed along the waterfront.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The gymnasium is 22,000 square meters in size and 32 meters in height. It contains two main floors, the upstairs space is designed with an indoor basketball arena with a capacity of 3,000 people; the downstairs space is a civic sports center, which includes a swimming pool with 50-meter standard swimming lanes and functional spaces for badminton, table tennis, fitness and yoga.
- Tags
- Earthscape, Integration, Openness, "Jewel" structural system, "Silk" surface
- Production Technology
- "Jewel": The jewel-like structural system realizes the integrity of the building, supports the huge architectural dome and surface, and forms the distinctive interior facade and space, achieving the unity of the structure, space and facade.
"Silk": The soft ribbon brings the building a sensual image that blends into nature, and the panoramic footpath is a metaphor for the Silk Road. The "silk" surface plays the function of shading and energy saving, and forms a gray space of micro-climate regulation.
Colorful aluminum plate: Nanchong is the silk capital of western China. The undulating exterior of the building twists and turns along the waterfront. The colorful aluminum plates, the changing sky light and time coexist harmoniously with the silk charm of Nanchong. - Design Challenge
- The strong function and structure of the sports building and its integration with nature are the most important challenges facing the project. Through the soft silk surface, we integrate the building with the landscape waterfront as a whole.
Openness is the second major challenge, and through the multiple grey spaces enclosed by the surface, the building creates sufficient open possibilities.
The structure is the third major challenge. The inner space of the building, supported by the jewel structural system, carries a huge dome with a span of 90 meters, a 10m projecting silk surface and a circular corridor, presenting distinctive features, forming the inner facade and achieving the unity of the structure, space and facade. - Project Duration
- The project started in November 2020 in Chengdu and finished in August 2022 in Chengdu.
- Operation Flow
- Openness: The building expresses maximum openness, the 'ribbon' encloses tens of thousands of square meters of civic square and sports field, and the cuts on the building surface form three panoramic corridors of different heights, visitors can enjoy the ever-changing scenery of the Jialing River while walking. These spaces are open 24/7.
Professional sports: The basketball hall can host basketball games, performance and other activities; the citizen sports center is open all year round to provide professional fitness facilities; the outdoor sports venue presents flexible layout and is free of charge. - Research
- 1. Earthscape: Architecture in the earthscape.
2. Integration: Integrated construction of the building and waterfront.
3. Openness: A truly open sports building for all.
4. Jewel structural system: The realization of the integration of structure, space and facade.
5. Silk surface: Silk Road, a combination of panoramic platform and ecological architecture. - Inspiration
- The gymnasium is conceived as a landscape building on the banks of the Jialing River, a brilliant gem on the Silk Road, where nature and humanity, technology and poetry meet.
Sports and architecture symbolize power, but nature is soft, and the Nanbu Eye seems to be the medium between them. The collision and fusion of "soft" and "tough" burst out fresh energy, integrating sports into the natural environment, allowing people to strengthen their health in a relaxed and back-to-nature environment. - Image Credits
- Image #1-5: Photographer Dong Liang and Zhang Hongge, RAWVISION studio, 2023
- Patents
- Technically, this project is designed in accordance with the Green Building Evaluation Standard-Two Star and will be certified after completion.
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