Bielefeld Sports Centre

Project: Bielefeld Sports Centre

Country/city: Germany, Bielefeld

Architect: Stüwe Architekten

Photographer:  Hans Georg Esch

Since 2008, Bielefeld’s three-court sports centre has undergone a multi-stage renovation. The dilapidated facade and the former ceiling suspension system, which was no longer compliant with the building code, provided the impetus for the project. The building was constructed in 1966/67 using a reinforced concrete frame structure, clad with seven tonnes of washed concrete slabs, which after 40 years were at risk of detaching.

Architekturbüro Stüwe, a firm of architects specializing in schools and sports centres, had the slabs reconditioned or replaced, depending on how badly damaged they were, and covered with insulating sandwich panels in modern, saffron yellow metal, giving the building a contemporary look.

The ceiling renovation was not a straightforward task, because the roof structure offered very little room for manoeuvre. The structure consists of 7.5-metre-long reinforced concrete beams supporting closely spaced perpendicular concrete beams and hollow sheets of pumice concrete enclosing the roof space, which extends over an area of 1,300 square metres.

In the context of the spatial acoustic planning objectives, as set out in DIN 18032-1 “Halls and rooms for sports and multi-purpose use”, discussion centred on a suspended acoustic ceiling, which would solve the entire problem without additional measures being required.

By installing a maximum-efficiency acoustic ceiling, the architects could ensure not only excellent speech intelligibility, high sound absorption and reduced spatial noise levels in the renovated sports centre, but also Room Acoustic Comfort, a concept that focuses on the users of the space and their activities.

The fully fitted Super G Plus acoustic ceiling meets all the requirements, providing Room Acoustic Comfort throughout the 1,300-square-metre sports centre even when all three courts are in use.