Tens of thousands of square metres will be dedicated to sport on the new rooftop terrace of the University of Physical Education in Budapest. As a spectacular element of the campus development, the general designer TSPC has also planned sports fields on the roof of the building. The design required unique structural solutions; the rooftop terrace of the Alkotás Street block will feature a 500-metre running track, an outdoor training park, a green arbour and a café terrace. The rooftop sports field will be designed with a sustainable approach. It is going to have a large solar park, rainwater harvesting system and green vegetation, providing a fresh environment for professors and students.
The 10,000 square meter facility will be Europe’s largest metropolitan university sports terrace, offering sports facilities 8.5-11 metres above the streets. The rooftop will feature a 500-metre Rekortan running track, teqball tables, fitness, street workout, TRX, strength training equipment, slackline, ping-pong, and an outdoor yoga area. There will be a shaded relaxation area perfect for taking a break – a café and benches, tables, and a green lawn.
“We believe that the view of the Buda Hills, the silhouette of the Castle Hill and being wrapped in the embrace of the Gellért Hill will provide a unique and inspiring sporting and social experience for athletes. A section of the roof will rise one level above the sports roof as an event terrace, where guests are welcomed by a stunning panorama of Budapest,” says Szilvia Könözsi, TSPC’s director of department of architecture.
The architectural concept was combined with specialised knowledge: the structural engineers of the TSPC had to find a solution for calculating the dynamic loads resulting from sport activities on the supporting structure of the so-called long-span halls. Currently, the standards do not provide any calculation requirements for such large-span structures with this function – the athletics hall will have a 54-metre span and the swimming pool a 38-metre span support structure. The TSPC experts, together with the Department of Structural Mechanics of the Budapest University of Technology, have been able to design for this specific case. During the design process, the high-level professional planning was developed by more than 150 engineers.
When designing the sports terrace, a priority was to take an environmentally conscious approach: the architects designed only permeable pavements, typically using natural materials and providing adequate conditions for vegetation. Rainwater will be collected on the rooftop, and the building and its surroundings are well-prepared for rainfalls. Solar energy will be collected by solar panels placed on the south-facing tilted surfaces of the athletics hall’s skylights – it is going to be used for sports lighting and to power the internal mechanical systems.
The Alkotás Street’s sports terrace will be a unique and iconic feature in the renewed, 78 000 square meter area of the University of Physical Education.
Client: University of Physical Education
General designer: TSPC Kft.
Lead architects : Mihály Kádár, Szilvia Könözsi– TSPC Kft.
Project manager architects: Zsolt Bánhegyi, Csilla Szántó, Csaba Faltusz – TSPC Kft., Péter Bach DLA, Dénes Halmai – Formiconcept
Source: Press release
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