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Double sports hall Biglen

A multipurpose hall between tradition and modernity

Double sports hall Biglen – exterior view with timber façade above the schoolyard

© Photo: Elisa Florian

A hall for sport, culture and community — the double sports hall in Biglen pairs contemporary architecture with a sustainable, economical timber structure and integrates harmoniously into the village.

540 m³
isofloc LM cellulose
2,570 m²
Gross floor area
18,230 m³
Building volume
1000
People multipurpose room

Concept and identity

The new multipurpose hall oscillates with its affirmative architecture between tradition and modernity, unpretentiously transforming the existing rural-village character into a contemporary appearance turned towards society and culture. The ground-level hall with direct access, delivery and egress, the gallery floor with the changing rooms, the technical floor directly serving the ventilation-intensive showers and changing rooms, and the staircase formulated as an attractive hinge to the existing building are all expressions of conceptual clarity and order. Following its construction and the building material wood, the form creates a tense and respectful dialogue with the existing urban and architectural virtues of Biglen.

Structure and construction

The above-ground load-bearing structure is rhythmically composed in a sustainable, economical timber construction. The roof structure of the multipurpose hall is built with visible glulam trusses at an optimised axis spacing of 2.765 m, with wooden elements resting on top. Between the trusses, the room acoustics cladding, lighting, sports equipment and audiovisual media find their place. Each glulam truss rests directly on a column that structures the façade. This ensures a simple, direct load transfer.

Double sports hall Biglen – interior with visible timber structure and galleries

Architectural concept and features

The visible timber structure with pincer-shaped braces and generous roof overhangs shapes the architectural appearance of the hall. Structural timber protection was deliberately taken into account. The hall was consciously designed to be simple, robust and durable, and integrates harmoniously into the village and the surrounding landscape.

Construction and sustainability

Load-bearing structure made of Swiss glulam (spruce). The façade walls and the roof were built with cellulose insulation. The construction is based on a sustainable and resource-friendly timber approach with low-tech building services. Particular focus was placed on structural timber protection, economic efficiency, a durable building structure and simple, low-maintenance building services. The multifunctional use of the hall also had to be considered flexibly.

Portrait of Sacha Stettler

„Structural timber protection was very important to us."

Sacha Stettler

  • Rolf Mühlethaler Architekten AG