Katalin Kovács National Canoe Academy

The Kayak-Canoe Association has a connection to Lake Velence; the former boathouse buildings were also here. The diverse functions of the design program cover a heated floor area of ​​around 20,000 m2, with two main building complexes, the Academy and the Boathouse building. The garden surrounding the buildings, divided by walkways, provides space for multiple sports and outdoor exercise equipment, and provides a large parking space from the main entrance. An event space with an open grandstand and a finish tower were also built on the shore of the lake for open water competitions.

The goal is not only to support the elite sport, but also to provide a competition track, learning, preparation and development opportunities for many other sports, with a complete infrastructure. The aim of the architecture is to create diverse spaces for personal, individual and communal spatial experiences, belonging together, group living and retreat, this feeling of different meanings is conveyed by the open and closed spaces. The variety designed for a single atmosphere, the fusion of external and internal spaces, and the feeling of using natural materials permeate the facility. The brick cladding, which suggests stability and durability, continues inside and provides the defining element of the interior design. The main building is a closed unit, and the useful but disturbing infrastructure elements are not visible in its spaces or in its appearance, the large ventilation grilles blend into the facade system, and the outdoor elements hide in hidden areas.

The structural design of the kayak-canoe center is tight, in a sense traditional. The open roof structures resting on pillars and the lattice girders stiffening the gables openly show the frame bracing. Both the interior design and the visible building structure design reinforce this. The materials of the walls and structures are mostly white plaster, brick, and wood. The “waters of the sky” have frozen into insulated roofs that fit onto the glued support frame, and they look down on the grandiose halls with all the memories of aquatic life and their silent indeterminacy. The memory of the wave rings of water drops lives on in the light rings of the chandeliers, the balconies form barrel ships. The gigantic pebble, penetrating the wall of the lobby, with its curved wooden cladding - a space within a space - gives place to the reception. The arches of the atrium passageway and the rolling momentum of the gutter are the memory of the river.