Gymnasium Koninklijk Atheneum Ukkel

The sports hall of the Koninklijk Atheneum in Ukkel/Uccle is located in a wooded area south of the city, which the campus describes as the 'largest garden in Brussels'. The surrounding wood was the starting point for URA to design a simple building that provides a solution for some the site’s clashing aspects: open versus closed, trees on a slope, materiality versus transparency, building versus nature. The architects decided to let the building move in line with the topography of the site. Visitors climb an external staircase via a path between the trees to reach the entrance on the first floor. The sports hall is located at the lowest level of the site. The stairs going down create an informal seating area, which acts as a permanent grandstand for spectators. The architects wanted to give users of the sports hall the impression that they are standing in the woods. The open glass sections situated at different heights show the surrounding trees from different perspectives.

This project was opened on the occasion of the 2017 Day of Architecture.