The multi-purpose sports hall in Žilina was built as a part of the sports and recreation zone in the Bôrik district. The architect Ľudovít Kupkovič designed a unique circular building with a diameter of 105 m on an irregular plot bordered by a transport artery, a city park and a forest park. The building has immediately become an icon of the city. At the time of its construction, the sports hall was exceptional in both its technical and functional design. It was designed with universal use in consideration, not only for all indoor sports but also for cultural and social events or film screenings. The size of the playing area was based on international standards (length 94 m, width 54 m, running oval of 200 m), as the hall was to host athletic events at the top level. The basic capacity of the hall for 2,000 spectators could be variably expanded with pull-out tribunes.
The domed building with a cupola at 18.5 m high is resembling the famous Palazzetto dello sport in Rome. Unlike Nervi's concrete shell, the hall in Žilina consists of 44 wooden glued solid-walled half-arches 23 cm wide with variable heights from 80 to 180 cm. The roof cladding is made up of atypical sandwich wooden panels covered with copper sheeting. The structural aspect of the building was designed by an expert in statics of public wooden buildings Ing. Andrej Bašista. The impressive wooden construction is fully presented in the interior. The playground is illuminated by diffused light penetrating through the glazed ring of the dome. The building was awarded the Dušan Jurkovič Prize for high quality and efficiency in 1986.
Bibliography:
RANDUŠKOVÁ, Alena – KUPKOVIČ, Ľudovít – DUTKO, Pavel: Športová hala v Žiline, Projekt 25, 1983, 10, s. 6 - 11.
EICHLER, Igor – KUPKOVIČ, Ľudovít: Športová hala v Žiline, Projekt 28, 1986, 1, s. 4 – 7.
KRIVOŠOVÁ, Jana - LUKÁČOVÁ, Elena: Premeny súčasnej architektúry Slovenska. Bratislava: Alfa, 1990, s. 185-187.
