BLUA’s Civic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China

Inspired by the phenomenon of the Olympic Games and their historical origins in the rocky landscape of Ancient Greece, the architects at BLUA designed their Civic Sports Center as a large artificial mountain. With its cascading sports fields and a crystalline façade, the “sports mountain” will be a new icon for the city of Hangzhou, China.

The entire structure is enveloped with a multi-layered skin that is embedded with crystal patterns and made from 3D cold laminated film, ETFE membrane and honeycomb glass. Balancing the flat appearance of the façade and the playfulness of the membrane bubble “windows”, the building is in constant state of flux.