Erle Strøm-Johansen - 01_culture and sports center

CULTURE AND SPORTS CENTER - The Valley of Chelas

Faculdade de Arquitetura Universidade de Lisboa, 4th year 2nd semester, Spring 25

Location: Chelas, Lisboa

The project is a multi-purpose activity center located in Chelas, Lisbon, bringing together a swimming pool, a sports hall, and a range of cultural and social functions. The intention behind the design is to create an open, accessible, and active civic space - an architecture that supports everyday life, embraces informality, and encourages use. This is a building meant to be lived in, not merely observed.

Structurally, the project is organized around a regular 5-by-5-meter steel grid of columns, establishing a clear spatial rhythm throughout the building. This structural clarity allows for flexibility and adaptability in programming while maintaining a strong architectural order. In the first floor, programmatic volumes - such as the reception, restaurant, shop, library, and cinema - are placed as independent boxes within this grid. These volumes wrap around and weave between the columns, reinforcing the grid’s presence while also negotiating with it. To soften the strictness of this system, curved and circular shapes are introduced in certain parts of the floor plan, creating moments of spatial relief and visual contrast.

Large-span steel trusses span over the sports hall and swimming pool, allowing for open, uninterrupted interior volumes where movement and visibility are essential. The structural system is left exposed, expressing the logic and strength of the architecture while contributing to its identity.

Color is used both for orientation and atmosphere. The columns are painted in different colors depending on their location: blue on the exterior, green in the sports hall, yellow in the pool area, and pink in the cultural and social zones. This chromatic language brings clarity to the interior navigation and adds a vibrant, almost playful quality to the spaces.

Circulation is organized around two vertical cores positioned on either side of the building, each containing elevators and a main stair. The blue spiral staircase not only facilitates movement but also acts as a sculptural element within the space. Its dynamic form and vivid color contrast with the otherwise rectilinear geometry of the building, drawing attention and inviting exploration.

The facade combines robust and refined materials. Timber frames punctuate the building envelope to soften the industrial character of the steel structure, while ceramic tiles add texture and detail. The roofline is articulated by generous overhangs that provide passive solar protection and emphasize the horizontality of the form. A deeper canopy at the southern entrance marks the main access point and frames the transition between the public square and the interior.

The surrounding landscape is an integral part of the design. To the south, the building opens onto a new public square - a shared civic space developed in the group planning phase. In contrast, the west and north edges are bordered by denser vegetation, creating a more sheltered, introspective edge. To the east, a “path of play” activates the site with informal recreational spaces, reinforcing the building’s focus on activity and movement.

Vertically, the functions are clearly stratified. The sunken level houses the swimming pool. The ground floor serves as a public interface with social and cultural amenities. On the second level, athletes access the sports hall and adjacent outdoor sports court directly, while the third floor is reserved for the public and fitness areas. Above, multipurpose rooms occupy the fourth floor, and the fifth floor houses administrative offices and meeting rooms.

Ultimately, the design seeks to create more than a building - it aspires to be an infrastructure for daily life, a generous and adaptable framework where sports, culture, and community come together.