Spanish architecture studio Selgascano has been awarded second prize for their innovative design of the Sijing Town Sports Center, located on the outskirts of Shanghai. The proposed facility is conceived as a sustainable, human-scale landmark that emphasizes environmental integration and community accessibility over traditional monumental architecture.
The sports center is strategically positioned between major transport routes and green corridors, with a design philosophy that prioritizes accessibility and active mobility. The project creates seamless connections between jogging paths, bike trails, and nearby parks, weaving these elements into a comprehensive network of wellness-focused public spaces that serve the broader community.
In stark contrast to the surrounding high-density urban developments, Selgascano's design introduces an architectural language rooted in openness and landscape integration. Rather than following the vertical dominance typical of Shanghai's skyline, the architects have deliberately dispersed the building's program across a series of low-profile, transparent pavilions topped with voluminous ETFE membrane rooftops. Each pavilion is carefully enveloped in greenery, creating a harmonious alignment with the natural environment and establishing a calm counterbalance to the speed and scale of the distant urban skyline.
The layout of the Sijing Town Sports Center draws deep inspiration from the heritage of traditional Chinese water towns, where bridges, courtyards, and walking paths have historically structured daily community life. These traditional elements are reinterpreted as spatial rhythms that connect interior activities with outdoor circulation patterns, reinforcing cultural continuity while supporting modern community use. By embracing the ground plane rather than reaching skyward, the architects have prioritized human scale and sensory engagement over monumental forms that might feel unwelcoming from street level.
Two sculptural and organically-shaped volumes serve as the project's primary focal points, their fluid geometry and bold presence establishing a recognizable architectural identity while remaining consistent with the overall horizontal composition. This careful balance allows the sports center to function as a landmark without relying on overwhelming size, instead generating visual and emotional resonance through thoughtful materiality, human-scaled proportions, and atmospheric qualities.
The facility is organized into distinct functional zones dedicated to swimming, multi-sport courts, and badminton, with each area designed to maximize strong indoor-outdoor connections. The building incorporates passive environmental strategies and smart technologies to support efficient climate control and operational performance. The carefully selected material palette prioritizes environmental performance, featuring ETFE membranes, recycled tartan surfaces, sustainably-sourced timber elements, and low-VOC finishes that all contribute to the project's comprehensive sustainability goals.
Daylight integration plays a crucial role in the design strategy, creating bright and animated interior spaces during daytime use while reducing energy consumption. At night, artificial illumination transforms the transparent pavilions into glowing beacons within the landscape, creating a striking visual presence. This day-night duality reinforces the building's civic role within the community, ensuring that the sports center remains a visible and accessible point of orientation throughout all hours of operation, serving as both a functional facility and a symbolic gathering place for residents of Shanghai's rapidly developing outskirts.
