Source: Sipa USA/SOPA Images
[Saba Sports News] The Dutch architectural studio MVRDV, in collaboration with Huayi Design, has won the design competition for the Shenzhen Pingshan Sports Park, which will become the new home for the Chinese national badminton team. MVRDV aims to create a true sports landscape that allows the public of different ages and abilities to engage in training or watch various sports while connecting the park with its surrounding environment, addressing the diagonal disconnection caused by highway overpasses. The sports complex designed by MVRDV encompasses all sports, with a particular emphasis on badminton. Its main building will include an arena, warm-up and training areas arranged around a T-shaped public space, featuring a central square known as the “sweet spot”—the area on a badminton racket where the ball is hit most effectively, returning over 40% of the ball speed. This is also the name of the entire design scheme. These elements will be covered by a 240-meter-long roof shaped like a racket head, adorned with photovoltaic panels, while below the public floors will be sports research laboratories. Among the most striking features is a 23-story tower on the south side of the main building, designed in the shape of a badminton shuttlecock. The lower levels of the tower will house hotel rooms, while the upper levels will contain short-term apartments for athletes. Jacob van Rijs, founding partner of MVRDV, stated that Pingshan Sports Park will become a world-class venue for badminton.