Climb! Collider Activity Center is a project based on two main concepts: the design of a comprehensive space defined by park and buildings, creating a unique harmony the ‘walking through’ experience of space, based on different sensations given by views, change of heights, perceiving the change of seasons, colours, shadows, etc. Park, Collider Activity Center, open air areas, and boulders constitute a space to be discovered while experiencing the whole site. The building itself offers opportunities of climbing. It resembles rocks and it can be experienced on different floors. People can walk around it, on the green paths or “climb” on it, going through the roof lane that crosses the entire building allowing entrances at different levels, to each function: the restaurant, the gym, Funtopia, the roof top bar, etc. Resembling a system of rocks, the building is part of the park, as much as the open air theatre, the boulders and Rocktopia. It is long and it permeates the site. Different paths, in the park, connect the site to the surrounding existing buildings. The Collider Activity Center modifies the landscape and offers opportunities for the positioning of other functions: the green-house, the swimming pool, the sun terrace. All these functions are visible from the street and invite people to enter and enjoy the space. The main entrance is open to the office building and to a first wooden ramp offering the possibility to explore the Center from the top, on the roof. It permits a direct entrance to the roof-top bar, where a beautiful terrace offers a panoramic view to the mountains. The roof is treated as a landscape: wooden walkways, green areas, terraces and coverings. From the roof, the green-house and the swimming pool are visible and from there it is possible to reach Rocktopia. In order to walk to the main entrance of the sporting area you pass along the office building ‘rock’ and close to the restaurant. From the parking area, you find a path going to the main sporting area’s entrance and another climbing on the roof. The sporting area hall crosses vertically all the building, and it also permits people to enter from the roof path. Inside the building, a long and irregular corridor allows people to reach all the functions having singular views to the climbing areas and to the site.
year: 2013
location: Sofia, Bulgaria
function: headquarter end climbing center
scale: 8,000.00 sqm
client: Walltopia
design team: Lorena Alessio
Marco Brizio, Silvio Marsanic, Elena Abbate, Chiara Brusati, Veronica Comba
art director/graphics: Rosali Alessio
design phases: preliminary design international competition