Club Atlético Calchín - Multi-Sport Facility
Calchín, Córdoba, Argentina / 3.500 sq.ft. / Athletic Facilities / 2026 / Competition
The proposal starts from a specific condition: a steel structure and a corrugated metal roof that the Club planned as the base for its new building. The project builds on that simple, modular and efficient infrastructure and gives it an architectural identity of its own. At the same time, it creates new relationships between the street, the Julián Álvarez Stadium, the Los Eucaliptos grounds and everyday life at the Club.
The large shed is conceived as a covered plaza. Instead of a closed sports hall, it is an open, shared space that people can cross, and it links two grounds that are separate today. Sport, circulation, gatherings and outdoor extensions all sit under one roof, which creates continuity between the two landscapes. Large glazed surfaces, movable enclosures and entrances on both sides bring the outside in and extend the gym’s activities across the whole Club. The building stops being an isolated object and becomes a connecting piece, a sheltered plaza that brings people together.
The proposal starts from a specific condition: a steel structure and a corrugated metal roof that the Club planned as the base for its new building. The project builds on that simple, modular and efficient infrastructure and gives it an architectural identity of its own. At the same time, it creates new relationships between the street, the Julián Álvarez Stadium, the Los Eucaliptos grounds and everyday life at the Club.
The large shed is conceived as a covered plaza. Instead of a closed sports hall, it is an open, shared space that people can cross, and it links two grounds that are separate today. Sport, circulation, gatherings and outdoor extensions all sit under one roof, which creates continuity between the two landscapes. Large glazed surfaces, movable enclosures and entrances on both sides bring the outside in and extend the gym’s activities across the whole Club. The building stops being an isolated object and becomes a connecting piece, a sheltered plaza that brings people together.
The public and institutional side of the project is concentrated at the corner of 9 de Julio and Colón. There, the main entrance and the official Club store give the Club a new presence in the town and make the corner a place to arrive, meet and represent the Club.
Inside, the roof organizes the program in a clear, flexible layout. The gym takes up the main space and is kept as open as possible, so it can be set up in different ways for training and community use. The upper level holds the secretariat, archive and meeting room, with views over the gym, the field and the outdoor spaces. A future elevated walkway could overlook the gym and connect the upper-level areas. At the south end, a support space serves first as storage and later could become viewing boxes for the stadium. The building is not a finished, closed solution. It is infrastructure that can grow and change without losing the clarity of its original layout.
A skin of common brick gives the building a local identity and a new institutional image. Repeating one simple unit creates a continuous, recognizable envelope that filters sunlight, casts shade, controls views and sets different levels of openness between inside and outside. The gym can open on both sides for constant cross-ventilation. The project plays local against global: the rational steel frame follows a contemporary, universal way of building, and the brick brings material, texture, shadow and a building tradition rooted in the region. The aim is not to copy a traditional image but to use a nearby material in a contemporary way, a local identity with a global treatment.
Inside, the roof organizes the program in a clear, flexible layout. The gym takes up the main space and is kept as open as possible, so it can be set up in different ways for training and community use. The upper level holds the secretariat, archive and meeting room, with views over the gym, the field and the outdoor spaces. A future elevated walkway could overlook the gym and connect the upper-level areas. At the south end, a support space serves first as storage and later could become viewing boxes for the stadium. The building is not a finished, closed solution. It is infrastructure that can grow and change without losing the clarity of its original layout.
A skin of common brick gives the building a local identity and a new institutional image. Repeating one simple unit creates a continuous, recognizable envelope that filters sunlight, casts shade, controls views and sets different levels of openness between inside and outside. The gym can open on both sides for constant cross-ventilation. The project plays local against global: the rational steel frame follows a contemporary, universal way of building, and the brick brings material, texture, shadow and a building tradition rooted in the region. The aim is not to copy a traditional image but to use a nearby material in a contemporary way, a local identity with a global treatment.
Using only a few systems and materials (steel structure, metal roof, glazing and brick skin) makes the building rational, durable and easy to maintain. Modulation and repetition simplify construction and allow it to be built in phases. In the end, the project suggests that a basic sports facility can become something more: a covered plaza for the Club and for Calchín, where training, meeting, watching a match or simply walking through are all part of the same shared experience.
