Gym & Joc

Nazareth Gym and JOC (Youth Meeting Center) was a Design and Build project for a new top-class gymnastics hall and youth meeting center. To bring this project to life, a team was formed consisting of URA architects (Brussels) and Verstraete.team, who together won the competition tender in late December 2015. The scope of the project included developing the concept and obtaining the building permit, which was ultimately obtained in July 2016.

The new gymnastics hall and youth meeting center is located on the existing sports site, seamlessly integrating with the existing infrastructure and enhancing its coherence. The hall itself is constructed with a skeleton of concrete columns and beams, which are clad with precast concrete panels. The roof is supported by profiled steel roof panels. The exterior of the hall is adorned with insulated sandwich panels.

The youth meeting center is traditionally built with load-bearing concrete walls and a reinforced concrete roof slab. Special attention was given to the acoustic qualities of the structure. The entire base of the building was executed with curtain wall profiles, with careful rhythm, detailing, and material selection at its core. The glazed façade is finished at the top with a combination of green fiber cement cladding and metal beams, embracing the building and giving it a distinctive appearance.

Continuous collaboration with all stakeholders (Nazareth youth organization, Nazareth Olympic Gymnastics Club, Nazareth Autonomous Municipal Company) during the design and construction phases laid the foundation for an optimally functioning building. A clear vision of entrances, flows, and sightlines has elevated the overall quality of the entire sports site. The timing, with priority given to the use of the gymnastics hall, was perfectly respected. The technical aspects of the building were explained to the staff during multiple sessions prior to its use.

Thanks to the aforementioned extensive collaboration with the client, a building was delivered that met and exceeded expectations in all aspects.