turnaccommodatie nieuw welgelegen (TNW) by NL architects
image courtesy NL architects

turnaccommodatie nieuw welgelegen (TNW) by NL architects is a sports hall dedicated
soley to gymnastics. four individual gymnastic clubs will combine their efforts in this
new facility. the project based on the idea of a 'tulip' TNW is the 3rd last building of
the redevelopment of a sports complex in the center of utrecht.

the brief for the TNW excluded the possibility of creating windows in the hall. in order
to be 'livable', daylight is required, but for serious training and competitions windows will
cause undesired effects - too much contrast and too much distraction.

the idea of tulip is to 'peel off' the skin at the top to bring daylight into the interior.
by partly bending out the facade a gap comes into being between the roof edge and the walls:
indirect light will reflect into the hall. the carefully deformed envelop creates a mildly
glowing gradient that lights up towards the top.

a pleasant side effect of bending out the facade is that the building becomes sculptural.


image courtesy NL architects


car park
image courtesy NL architects


daylight entering the gym
image courtesy NL architects


the gym opens to allow daylight in
image courtesy NL architects


image courtesy NL architects

hall with no daylight
image courtesy NL architects

hall with daylight
image courtesy NL architects



image courtesy NL architects

turnaccommodatie nieuw welgelegen (TNW)
image courtesy NL architects

turnaccommodatie nieuw welgelegen (TNW)
competition: 1st prize
client: dienst maatschappelijke ontwikkeling gemeente utrecht
team: bobby de graaf, sarah moller, michael schoner, gen yamamoto,
rebecca eng, joanna janota, jeong jun song