The construction of a sports complex with a hotel in the city of Omsk, on the right bank of the Irtysh, near the junction and the bridge, is planned to be completed in 2016. The new building logically fits into the state policy on the rise of national sports and belongs to the architectural genre, which, by definition, has considerable expressive capabilities and is able to influence the appearance of the city.
“The Omsk hockey club Avangard has a traditionally strong children's sports school,” says the head of the team of authors Sergey Tsytsin. - Natives of it become players not only of the Omsk club, but also of other leading hockey clubs in the country and abroad. Hence the idea of creating a full-fledged complex, including sports, education, accommodation and medical care, equipped with the latest technology and in accordance with the requirements of the KHL. Such conditions allow us to achieve high results, so the idea of the complex turned out to be close to me, and the work on it for our workshop was very interesting."
According to the assignment, the sports complex accommodated two indoor skating rinks - one for training and the other for competitions, gyms, classrooms, a medical rehabilitation center, as well as a hotel for nonresident students and temporary accommodation for invited teams and coaches.
As a result, a squat rectangular volume of irregular outlines arose, the basis of which is two parallel ice arenas. Between them there is a three-storey intermediate zone with auxiliary and technical rooms, dressing rooms for athletes and a recreation area. Along its axis, an eight-story hotel building is separately taken out, connected to the main block by a warm transition.
Both skating rinks have the same size 30x60 m. One is intended for training and general skating. The other is for competition; it is equipped with a spectator tribune for 1000 people.
Each arena has an additional area on the side of the hotel for training sessions, medical services, catering, service personnel, administrative and technical premises.
Ciqing's workshop provided the customer with two options for the project. The first one has a single main facade facing the river and highlighted by a monumental portal on the transverse axis of the complex. The façade joining both arenas and overlooking the track has a stepped, irregular outline. Stylistically, this version is more strict and conservative: rhythmic vertical articulations with expressive extension of inclined cornices resemble the Soviet monumental style of the 1970s. The hotel building is stable and static.
The second option is more modern, with curvilinear, "sculptural" forms that transmit the impulse of muscle energy. This shell is a hinged decoration reinforced on top of the main functional "box". There are two main facades here, they are located along the longitudinal axis. Their symmetrical compositions are very similar: it is a glass screen with two wings flanking it, or, rather, "arms" in an elastic sweep of a swimmer. The hotel hull in this version turned 90 degrees and acquired a slight tilt, like a flagship going against the wind.
The second, more dynamic version was adopted for implementation.
“The customers allowed us to create not just a functional facility,” says Sergei Tsytsin, “but some expressive image, so that the building would be a decoration of the city and at the same time reflect the typology inherent in sports facilities. Sport, energy, dedication and the actual hockey theme - these are the motives that we tried to reflect in our project."
In addition to the external appearance and working drawings, the interiors of the complex were developed for the workshop. The same themes of energy and courage are heard here, but the elements of bionics have completely given way to the avant-garde, successfully matching the name of the club. Instead of smooth elastic forms, Suprematist geometry and color contrast reign here. The color scheme is based on the contrast of the general monochrome background, natural wood and bright accents of red, yellow and blue. The abstract geometric theme is contrasted with figurative hockey plots on the walls and whimsical forms of furniture and accessories.
The object is located among rare, mostly Soviet buildings, on the slope of the gentle bank of the Irtysh. On the other side of the river, vis-a-vis another ice complex was built - for adults. Thus, the new hockey academy, with an important junction on the banks of the Irtysh, will become a significant urban development link, forming a panorama of the river, which is still loose in this place. It is possible that it will give Omsk one of those plastic and social accents, which are now commonly called catalysts for the improvement of the urban environment.
Directly around the complex there will be a mini-football field, a skating rink with plastic ice, a playground with exercise equipment, a green recreation area, organized as a single landscape with small architectural forms.
It is assumed that the complex will serve not only future stars, but also ordinary citizens, organizing active leisure time and creating that healthy environment that we so lack.
