Centre Sport & Santé in Dorigny

Set in the urban context of Lausanne with a splendid view over Lake Geneva, the Centre Sport & Santé in Dorigny is conceived as a place devoted to health and well-being. The centre’s key activities include training, working on physical condition and bodily expression, and undergoing tests and checkups.
Designed by the practice Krüger & Kazan with a strong focus on environmental integration and assimilation into the existing urban landscape, the complex extends eastwards, its rounded shape marking the final element between the built portion of the site and the equipped outdoor spaces. With its large windows and spectacular terraced arcade, the building looks out over the equipped sports area immersed in the natural landscape.
The design brief was to create a building that would embody concepts of health and wellness. This was achieved through an idiom that combined formal simplicity with overall environmental quality, including skilful use of materials, a meticulous study of colours and a constant focus on natural light.
Individual sports activities require a large floor area, whereas team sports require a large height. The architect found a perfect solution to these very different spatial requirements by creating a compact yet unimposing volume that integrates with the surrounding built and natural landscape.
Externally, the architectural complex is highlighted by its façade solution, in which the modular elements of the continuous ceramic cladding enhance the building’s structural lattice while framing the windows and arcade openings. Applied using the ventilated façade technique with exposed mechanical couplings, the 80×80 cm Geotech series porcelain tiles from Floor Gres were used to create the external envelope, a textured and irregular surface with a pale colour and natural appearance. This ceramic shell serves as a unifying element in terms of texture and colour, reflecting light dynamically according to the time of day, changes in atmospheric conditions and the passing of the seasons.
The building observes fundamental principles of sustainable construction and adopts rigorous energy control systems. It was constructed in accordance with the MINERGIE-ECO registered quality label, which imposes the strictest criteria for heating energy and electricity consumption in Switzerland and Europe.