A state-of-the-art swimming centre for the town of Erba

The new Parco del Lambrone centre meets the need to provide the town of Erba and surrounding area with a high-level sports and leisure venue. Construction of the facility cost 9.5 million euros and was funded by means of project financing. The Erba town council allocated 1.5 million euros, while the remaining 8 million euros was provided by Lambro One Sport, which will operate the centre for thirty years. The project was carried out with a view to integration into the existing landscape and takes account of the observations made by the Parco del Lambro authority, given that the large green area on which the centre stands is located inside the park. The buildings therefore had to be planned according to criteria such as the correct ratio between urban and agricultural areas, safeguarding of agricultural land, limitation of the paved exterior surfaces, construction of parking areas using environmentally compatible materials, and the use of adequate green filter areas. To avoid interrupting the sports activities that were already in place, the project was planned in four stages. First the officially approved 11-a-side football pitches were resurfaced with a synthetic turf finish inside the athletics stadium along with two multipurpose pitches. The existing facilities (basketball, volleyball, beach volley and archery) were then refurbished and the large new swimming centre built. This rectangular building extends over two above-ground floors plus a basement with a gross floor space of 3,877 square metres and a volume of 11,631 cubic metres. The guiding principles behind the project included unity of composition, formal simplicity and maximum permeability between the interior and exterior to provide lightness and transparency to the entire project. The south side has a colonnade in direct contact with the green areas, while the eastern elevation features an open pergola that acts as a filter between the interior and exterior spaces while at the same time shading the façade. Large transparent windows lighten up the facades and allow users to look out onto the landscape. The materials were chosen according to natural criteria: wood for the main roofing elements and porcelain tiles from Cedir’s Materia collection for the floor coverings in the changing room corridors, the swimming pool area and the exteriors. The various operational blocks in this single building, visually identified by the choice of materials and colours, also incorporate functions previously performed by isolated buildings, which have been demolished and converted to greenery. The ground floor accommodates the main pool (25×16.5 metres) with a wood vault roof, the medium-sized training pool (10×16 metres) and the children’s pool (5.40×7 metres). The wellness area is equipped with a rehabilitation pool with whirlpool bath, thermarium and salt bath, fitness area and relaxation areas. The outdoor summer leisure pool offers 550 square metres of water games and slides for use by both adults and children.