Atelier PRO designed the new sports complex Bosbadhal in Emmeloord with an outspoken, sporty character, bringing cohesion between the outdated sports centre and swimming pool with several new functions. New additions include a large sports centre and lobby, the latter bringing structure to the various sports facilities. The most important intervention was to provide the old sports centre and new additions with one continuous façade, thereby connecting the mismatching facades and outdated architecture. In this way, the separate buildings become transformed into one sculpture. 

The building complex comprises a base of masonry finished with Keim mineral paint and a facade of overlapping fibre cement panels in different sizes and natural shades of grey. As a distinctive feature, the gaps between the overlapping façade panels are articulated with a vertical golden line visible only from one direction. Through the alternating directions of overlap in the layers of panels, different rows of yellow lines are visible at any one time. Wider openings invite daylight into the spaces behind. Above the entrance, the yellow-coloured glass in the openings accentuates the play of lines externally on the façade; internally the intensity of the yellow-tinted light highlights the interplay between the clouds and sun throughout the day. In this way, the entry gains more prominence. The building gains its refinement, elegance and sense of movement through the play of surfaces and lines between the greys and yellow of the panels together with the colonnade of glazing, the façade appearing different from every angle. In the evening when the lights are on, yellow light filters outside through the openings, bathing the façade in a golden glow. These relatively simple architectural interventions shape the dynamic of the sports complex, bringing coherence to the design. 

Visitors enter the building via two main entrances directly into the new lobby. From here, the routing is divided: visitors can immediately go upstairs to the sport café via a set of bright red-coloured stairs. The café is strategically placed to accommodate both a ‘skybox’ that views directly into one of the sport halls and a series of windows that looks into the other. From the café, visitors have direct access to the different spectator tribunes. On the ground floor, sporters can continue from the entrance through to the changing rooms and the sports halls. While the interior of the lobby is white with grey flooring and panelling, the bright red of the stairs, reception, railings, and seating gives the space a sense of vibrancy. Upstairs, the sport café has a more intimate feel through the red floor and banquette seating, and the warm timber of the oak bar that forms an integral part of the interior. In the sports halls, the walls are clad with a base of bamboo panelling and painted white above while the bright red returns in the tribunes. The swimming pool remains in its original state but is now integrated with the rest of the sports complex, its façade adapted to that of the other building volumes.

The new sports complex serves as an example in terms of sustainability through the well-insulated shell - less energy loss also means less energy use. Other technical measures employed to fulfill the building’s sustainability ambitions can be found in the lighting. Spot lighting in the sports halls is electronically controlled, including a system that responds to daylight. The light intensity in the sports halls varies according to each activity and is controlled via the building management system. Motion sensors reduce the light intensity to 10% in unoccupied spaces. Through these measures, energy savings for lighting are expected to range between 15-20%. In addition, other sustainable measures include the compartmentalized ventilation system in the sports halls and a high percentage of heat recovered from the air through the heat recovery system.