Concrete, Planks, Glass: Icons of Polish Sports Architecture

hala_stulecia_wroclaw_skor-110906-128-s.jpg, default, Centennial Hall in Wrocław, photo: Marek Skorupski / Forum

We most often associate sports architecture with large stadiums. But arenas built for tens of thousands of spectators are not the only conceptual framework for sports facilities. These types of buildings can take on many different forms.

Stadion Energa Gdańsk

When Poland was preparing to host the Euro 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, debates about the form, cost of construction, size and location of the stadiums lasted for months. In the end, four new arenas were built for Euro 2012 (including two on the sites of pre-existing facilities). In terms of architectural form, the stadium in Gdańsk, the work of the RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky studio, received the highest praises from the outset. The oval-shaped object was clad with 18,000 polycarbonate tiles. Their texture and golden colour made the arena resemble amber. The experts appreciated the form, which was rooted in the local character, and the residents liked the simple, yet distinctive building, which also contributed to the development of a degraded, previously neglected area.

Spodek Sports & Entertainment Hall

Spodek sports and entertainment hall, photo: Michał Łuczak / Forum

Katowice’s Spodek (literally: 'saucer', TN) is a true icon of Polish architecture. The highly characteristic edifice, which perfectly fits into the urban space of the Silesian city, was built between 1965 and 1971. The futuristic structure was created by a team of architects led by Maciej Gintowt and Maciej Krasiński, but its construction would not have been possible without the participation of a group of engineers and constructors led by Wacław Zalewski. Spodek Hall is shaped like a slightly tilted, inverted cone. In the volume Art of Upper Silesia, Irma Kozina, a researcher of local architecture, explains the appearance of the edifice in the following way:

The original plan of the hall arose from the need to combine a central system with an amphitheatrical auditorium with a longitudinal directional axis system, as the hall was designed from the outset as a multi-purpose facility. This combination was achieved by fitting an elongated rectangle, determined by the size of a hockey rink, into a ring with a circular auditorium, and the orientation of the axis was achieved by slashing in half a diagonally inverted cone (bowl) in which the spectator seats were located. The form thus shaped is complemented by an additional rectangular annex with a gymnasium.

The Saucer stands out not only for its shape, but also for its very modern reinforced concrete and steel construction. As the designers intended, the hall continues to be used today for sports matches and practice, as well as for cultural events, trade fairs or even religious gatherings.

The Warsaw Horse-Racing Track

Warsaw Racecourse, photo: Adam Stępien / AG

Among the iconic, universally recognisable Polish sports venues, we may also find one of the most interesting developments of the interwar period, notably the Warsaw Racecourse, built on the southern outskirts of the capital in the 1930s.

Horse racing as a sport and entertainment developed in the 1830s; in Warsaw, the first racecourse for horses was established in 1841 in the Pole Mokotowskie park; Poznań, Lublin and Lviv, among others, also had their own hippodromes. In view of the ever-increasing popularity of the sport, in 1925 the Society for the Encouragement of Horse Breeding in Poland purchased 150 hectares of land in Warsaw's Służewiec district with the intent to build a professional horse-racing facility there. In addition to paddocks, tracks and stables, a complex of grandstands and facilities for judges, administration and journalists was built there. They were designed by Zygmunt Plater-Zyberk, in collaboration with the author of numerous luxurious modernist townhouses, Juliusz Żórawski. The structures of the Służewiec Racetrack were imbued with very forward-thinking modernist forms for the time, inspired by naval design. Rounded corners, huge, glazed surfaces, white façades, contrasting dark marble floors and structural columns or dynamically shaped interiors (e.g. winding staircases) make this sports facility one of the best achievements of the luxurious and at the same time forward-thinking architecture of the Polish interwar period.

'I made an appointment with her at nine o'clock... or about the entertainment of pre-war Warsaw' [gallery]

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Centennial Hall in Wrocław

Poland is fortunate in having buildings which, while accommodating sport, are also valuable architectural monuments. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Centennial Hall in Wrocław certainly belongs to this group. It was built on the occasion of an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the victory of the anti-French coalition over Napoleon Bonaparte’s army at Leipzig. But due to its size and shape, it is also often used for sporting events. The history of the Hall is very rich: at various times, Adolf Hitler spoke, Paul Anka sang, John Paul II led an ecumenical prayer, and the Polish basketball team fought and won the world vice-championship here.

The reinforced concrete edifice was built between 1911 and 1912 according to a design by Max Berg. At the time of its construction, the 65-metre-wide dome over the Hall was the largest structure of its kind in the world. It is worth keeping in mind that in the early years of the 20th century, reinforced concrete, which made possible the creation of such a vast interior undivided by any supporting structures, was a very new invention. Max Berg was widely advised that the construction project he was leading would end in disaster, that the hall would surely collapse. Fortunately, the building, which is now more than a century old, is in good shape.

Centennial Hall in Wrocław – Image Gallery

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Olivia Hall in Gdańsk

Concrete also provides the expressive power of another interesting sports facility, the Olivia Hall built in 1972 in Gdańsk. The architects Maciej Gintowt and Maciej Krasiński, along with the constructor Stanisław Kuś, created a shape inspired by... a fish, which the creators considered to be the most expressive symbol of Pomerania. But the curved shapes of the roof stretching over the building may also suggest sea waves, a wind-torn sail, the hull of a ship – the dynamic silhouette of the concrete and glass building is related to the location of the building in the vicinity of the sea.

The building houses two indoor ice rinks, but the interior was designed to accommodate various types of events and to adapt the size of the auditorium according to need; Olivia Hall was, among other things, a venue for important political events (e.g. the rallies of the NSZZ Solidarność Solidarity Trade Union), fairs, concerts and shows. Most often, however, the hall is used by hockey players, including the league team Stoczniowiec Gdańsk. After the renovation completed in 2016, the building not only regained its architectural splendour but also became a modern sports facility again – it is the only one in Poland with two covered indoor ice rinks and sports facilities of a high standard.

Silesian Stadium in Chorzów

Almost 60 games of the Polish national team and 30 European cup games, speedway and athletics competitions, dozens of concerts and cultural events – all of this has already taken place at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, with a capacity of almost 55,000 spectators. The arena is one of the most important elements of the Provincial Park of Culture and Leisure (today called Silesian Park), a large recreational area which was built on the border between Katowice and Chorzów in the 1950s on the initiative of General Jerzy Ziętek. Built between 1951 and 1956, the facility designed by Julian Brzuchowski had stone façades and a characteristic 10-storey tower rising over the area (it was demolished in 2008). Between 2009 and 2017, the stadium underwent extensive renovation, reclaiming once again its place as a world-class arena (it is the second largest such facility in the country, with only the capital's National Stadium being larger).

Com-Com Zone Development Centre in Nowa Huta

There are many truly iconic sports facilities in Poland with an interesting history and unique architecture. It is not difficult to find noteworthy ones among more contemporary projects, either, especially as the plethora of forms used by architects designing for sportsmen and sportswomen has greatly expanded in the 20th century.

The Com-Com Zone Development Centre in Nowa Huta, Kraków, has a total area of 6,000 square metres and contains, among other things, a swimming pool, sports hall, gym, climbing centre, four training rooms, three grass football pitches and two with artificial turf, sauna, restaurant, and amphitheatre. The facility was built in 2008 in the infamous Nowa Huta (literally: New Steelworks) area. Wojciech Obtułowicz, who designed the building, wanted to create not only a space for sport, but also a centre to integrate the local community and support the social revitalisation of the area. He decided to give the building the expressive form of a Brutalist concrete ‘sculpture’, with an expressively shaped roof, an imposing tower and austere, minimalist interiors. And it doesn't stop there: the architect has left the usually hidden installations, pipes, cables, technical equipment visible. These architectural ‘innards’ blend in perfectly with the cold, concrete interiors; moreover, they allow users to see how the building is constructed and how it functions.

Fala Park in Wolsztyn

Built in 2012 in Wolsztyn, the Fala Park Family Sports and Leisure Centre is living proof that it is possible to build a facility that is attractive to different user groups, aesthetically pleasing, modern and at the same time inexpensive to build and operate. The edifice was built just 300 metres from the historic market square of the small town, in a park-like setting on a lake. This location influenced its form. The members of the PL.architekci studio responsible for the project say:

As far as the architecture is concerned, above all we wanted to make maximum use of the advantages of the location by opening the building scenically to the surroundings. All rooms that require daylight face the lake.

Among other facilities, the building houses bowling lanes, squash, spinning and fitness rooms, a gym, climbing wall and probably the only tennis court in Poland located... on the roof of the building. The glazed façades of the building have been supplemented with drawn and bent mesh shutters, which not only give the building a modern feel but also protect the interiors from excessive sunlight. A further distinctive feature is the openwork structure on the roof, which protects the tennis court located there and provides an extensive view of the city and the nearby lake.

Although the neighbourhood of the facility is dominated by older buildings, Fala Park stands out against this background. As the designers from PL.architekci say:

The vast majority of new buildings are designed in a historicising manner; these buildings are conservative and maintain a convention that does not provide added value. We wanted to demonstrate that it is possible to successfully integrate something modern into an old fabric and achieve interesting results by modest means. In a way, therefore, we aimed to inspire the residents artistically and aesthetically.

Sports Hall in Panki

With a population of just over 1,700, the village of Panki is located halfway between the towns of Częstochowa and Kluczbork. In 2012, this small town gained a modern and uniquely shaped sports hall. Designed by the ISBA Grupa Projektowa design studio, the building has a floor space of almost 2,000 m2 and accommodates not only the students at the local school but all residents. It provides a large gymnasium with a full-size pitch and amphitheatrically arranged stands, as well as a gym and fitness space.

The rectangular building is distinguished by its openwork plank façade. The wood cladding gives the building a homely character and an appearance which resonates with its surroundings. At the same time, the building’s externally visible structure with its wooden arches and stretched ceiling, although in some ways suggesting a barn, makes the facility thoroughly modern.

Translated by Michał Niedzielski

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