Work on SPF:architects’ Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Centre in California, begun in 2018, is 75% complete and will finish in the summer.
The facility is an expansion of the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles.
The architect set out to add additional facilities in an efficient way, which led it to use pre-engineered metal buildings, or PEMBs.
This technique, which is used to construct structures such as aircraft hangars, is being used to add a 23,000 sq ft pool, a 16,000 sq ft basketball gymnasium, a raised walking track, bleachers for the tennis centre and stadium, and an enclosed garden.
The project also aims to be net zero energy, in line with Los Angeles’ mayor Eric Garcetti’s "Green New Deal" announced in February last year. This will be done by employing elements such as solar panels, natural ventilation and daylight through solar tubes.
The project will have five ecologies: high desert, canyon, coast chaparral, and medicinal. These will be implemented across a grid-like pattern, linking the buildings and sports fields.
The existing park has a distinctive history and was used by Venus and Serena Williams as children, and by many NFL players through the Dorsey High football team.
Images courtesy of SPF:architects
