The Adapted Gymnasium in Chihuahua, México is specially designed by Urbánika for users with disabilities; the main challenge is to integrate all users with a mix of sports, social and cultural activities.
Urbánika: Adapted Gym
Designed for users with disabilities, this gym in Chihuahua, México, is a low-budget building conceived to integrate all users with a mix of sports, social and cultural activities.
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- 29 June 2015
- Chihuahua
It has a multipurpose court for basketball, volleyball, boccia, goalball, karate and quad rugby.
A weight room is integrated next to the court as means to incorporate all users to the same space. A loop of ramps organizes the project, turning the sometimes complexity of movement into a ludic architectural promenade. A multipurpose hall is used for dancing and karate lessons as well as social gatherings. Bleachers are designed in a democratic manner where wheelchair users can park in several different levels and enjoy the activities with their companions. There’s a linear viewing platform that doubles as a stage that can be adapted for different activities by the users. Administration and services complete the program.
Raw materials and exposed installations and ductwork reduce construction and maintenance costs aimed to meet a restricted budget; while vibrant colors are used to help vision impairment users find their way throughout the gym. Visual ending points of natural light also guide pathways.
A gym inside a park, the shape of the plan responds to movements around existing trees and by planting new ones, the gym will ‘disappear’ behind grown vegetation within a few years.
Adapted Gym, Chihuahua, México
Program: gym
Architects: Urbánika (Federico Campos, Oscar Chávez)
Collaborators: Erika Hernández, Humberto Mendoza, Maria Isabel González, Mariana Enríquez, Ariana de la Garza
Structural engineering: Mario Aragón
Plants engineering: Myrna Ortega
Area: 1,083 sqm
Completion: 2014