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For Athletes in Training: A Raised Ring Has No Impact on its Site

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Sited within a huge reservoir in Caceres, Spain, on a peninsula that seems as if it was created just for this building is a space created by Jose Maria Sanchez Garcia for athletes in training, in a tranquil, landscaped setting.

A minimal raised ring design provides just over 2,000 square feet of interior space in peaceful harmony with its surroundings. The  low impact new Sports Research Centre is an Emerging Architecture Awards winner. The continuous ring shape is a familiar shape for athletes who train and compete in circles.

The athletes can walk in the clean air all the way around on top of the 23-foot-wide building on a curved rooftop walkway with an elevated view of the beautiful surroundings.

The building only comes down to connect with the earth in some parts.

For most of it, in the areas of the peninsula that are prone to flooding, it is above ground. The elevation preserves the natural habitats beneath it.

The beautiful, subtle sheen of stainless steel cladding picks up the tints of the surrounding woodlands, and it is a very cost-effective building material.

Inside, the building houses space for research, training, recreation and business facilities for professional athletes, while underneath, the raised elevation has the effect of preserving the habitat for local flora and fauna to continue with their lives too.

Within the ecologically benign space are sleeping quarters, physiological laboratories, a business center and cafe.

For athletes taking an evening walk, LEDs flood the ground beneath the structure that barely impacts the ground – and making the building look like a gently hovering flying saucer about to land.

Images by Roland Halbe Architectural Photography