Cheomdan Badminton Court / JHW IROJE architects&planners + The Sa-ram Architects

Architects: JHW IROJE architects&planners, The Sa-ram Architects
Location: Cheomdangangbyeon-ro, Cheomdan 2(i)-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
Lead Architects: Jung Hyowon, Shin Youngeun
Area: 999.0 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Youngkwan Kim

Construction: Jungdo construction
Structure Engineer: Seoul Structural Engineering & Consulting Co., Ltd
Mechanical Engineer: Saeter ENG
Electrical Engineer: Shin gaseung Engineering & Consulting Co., Ltd

Texture of the Earth_ The plan began with concern about how to represent something of the texture of nature, which has a different character from the scale of the indoor stadium. We wanted the soft red-brown colour of the Youngsangang riverbank to continue throughout the mass.

The Structure and Ceiling of the Stadium_ The long span space is usually secured by the structural form of the interior space or the steel-frame structure, but it also causes a visual distraction due to exposed structural material and equipment facilities. For this stadium, the structural limit of the interior form and the concrete long span beam was supplemented by the PT beams. A seven-sided court was planned inside the 50x20x 12m (H) concrete box, which is a wall structure that does not allow any column exposure. The indirect light enters the building during the day as the PT columns are placed in a consistently proportioned module and placing the ceiling between the modules. Also, a 50m long projected window filters in additional light. The long horizontal window is wrapped around four sides of the stadium, which contains the low and deep scenery of the exterior park space.

Ectype and the Path of Concrete_ The main structural bearing wall has a coloured exposed concrete finish. A pattern was revealed by engraving the quadrisect cylinder shaped larch. This ectype texture was intended to engrave the horizontal path of the moving shuttlecock on the surface of the concrete. Plywood and perforated plywood was cross-placed and used as the interior finishing material to absorb sound, which minimizes sound during the games. The finish of the interior floor and wall was made up with wooden patterns, which continues the coloured concrete pattern on the exterior wall, creating a warm texture and atmosphere in the stadium.