PROJECT DETAILS
Maximum transparency while being totally connected to the environment due to the Cradle-to-Cradle Silver certified WICTEC 50 façade system.
Located in the vicinity of Bellver Forest (Palma de Mallorca), the Queens Centre Sports Centre is as a space integrated into the environment, a stone's throw from Queens College. Alfonso Reina Arquitectura, who oversaw the project, has developed a uniform and organic space, integrated into its surroundings, where users can take in stunning views of natural spaces while doing sport.
Access to the building is via a descending side path to an outdoor foyer where there is a large swimming pool, a surprising space flooded with natural light thanks to the façade design using WICONA's WICTEC 50 façade system. This curtain wall, as well as providing maximum transparency, is Cradle-to-Cradle Silver certified, fully complying with the circular economy concept.
Highly-sustainable criteria thanks to low-energy architecture
The result of the work conducted on the new building is a type of architecture that has optimised energy resources while minimising the building's consumption by incorporating sustainable materials and highly-efficient installations.
To guarantee these sustainable criteria, materials and systems have been used to ensure that the building's consumption is responsible. For this reason, WICONA's WICTEC 50 curtain wall with low-emissivity, solar control glass has been chosen. Thanks to its minimal visible profile, only 50 mm, and the depth of its profiles, which range from 50 to 260 mm, the system makes it possible to create façades with special and customised aesthetics for projects as one-of-a-kind as this one.
The orientation of the building, its luminosity, the transparency generated by the different spaces, the views of the forest and Bellver Castle, the functionality and optimisation of the building's resources, its sustainability and efficiency have been key aspects in the design of the building”, states the architect, Alfonso Reina.
Inside, the slatted wood of the ceilings acts as a unifying element between all the spaces of the complex: swimming pool, multi-functional room, multi-purpose room, accesses, and personal training room.
The different spaces are distributed around a white box where the changing rooms are located, providing access to the swimming pool and the other multi-functional spaces. Simplicity and efficiency in the building’s transit areas with the changing rooms in the centre that lead to the different rooms where the sports activities are carried out. The multi-functional room is connected to the swimming pool area.
Successions of planes, spaces, transparencies that are enriched by the diversity of the geometry of the complex and by the variety of points from which the spaces can be seen.
On the outside, the façades are clad with cypress wood strips placed at the apex, producing a dynamic vibration of light and shadow that changes throughout the day.
Underneath the wood, the WICTEC 50 curtain wall of large dimensions are worth highlighting, in which the vertical mullions take centre stage and set the rhythm of the façades.
The football pitch provides access to a porch and the stands, shaded areas that overlook the swimming pool. The paving of the stands and the porch on the first floor has also been unified with the football pitch to provide continuity between outdoor and indoor spaces. There are also exterior transit areas around the swimming pool, from where the aquatic activities can be observed. An access ramp has been designed to the roof of the building with views of the Bellver Castle and the surrounding forest. The entire building has been designed with continuous outdoor transit areas for sports activities.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the versatility of the building with a two-fold function; as the pupils of the school use it, during school hours, and, on the other hand, the citizens of Palma use it.
