This ambitious dome is the intended handball arena of the Danish municipality of Holstebro. The building is a combination of a handball arena, which occupies the lower level; and a residential complex, which forms the ‘roof’ of the structure. The total floor area for the structure is 20,000 square meters, even though its footprint covers only 6000 square meters, and the residential floor, which is the dome of the building, is technically just one floor. This large ratio simply gives a perspective on the height of the dome, which rises several stories high, giving the ‘top floor’ occupants an excellent skyline view of the city, even though those closer to the base will still have a good view, since the building is to be sited on a hillside.
The main handball arena, which is carved out below the ground level to maximize the height of the roof without needing to raise the dome, is an impressive 5000 seat capacity. Fusing a sports arena with a residential complex is novel and rather radical idea, but the reasoning is that utilizing the space to generate extra income, in addition to arena rentals, will help the city recover from its budget setbacks faster. Also, the inhabitants of the dome will certainly appreciate the creativity behind the idea, and also love the aesthetic quality of the building. One of the main visual aspects of this building is the gray shading effect which displays alternating gray and white squares, even though the building is completely colored white. This is achieved by the shadows being cast on the façade square steps that alternate with spaces over the surface of the roof.
Gallery courtesy : Anupam Agnihotri
Source: BIG