Project
Vittorio Grassi Architects
Client
Municipality of Taranto
Period
2023
Gross Floor Area
9,000 sqm
Use
Sports Center, Olympic Swimming Pool
Service Provided
Architecture and Masterplanning
Consuoltants
Incide Engineering (Structures, MEP, Plant engineering)
The design concept for the Swimming Stadium of the XX Mediterranean Games 2026 in Taranto was developed as part of a broader architectural masterplan and forms part of an urban regeneration strategy aimed at combining sporting excellence, architectural quality, and urban design.
The facility is intended to host international competitive swimming events and was developed according to advanced criteria of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, in line with the most up-to-date sustainability strategies applied to sports facility architecture.
The iconic element of the project is the lightweight roof that shades and protects the swimming stadium, conceived as a large suspended sail above athletes and spectators.
This architectural choice strengthens the visual and functional dialogue between the archaeological park and the sea, integrating the building into the landscape and urban context while contributing to the overall quality of the architectural masterplan.
The intervention aims to create sports facility architecture that is both highly recognizable and perfectly integrated into its context. The project’s innovation lies in its structural concept and in the materials used for the roof, as well as in the sustainability strategies adopted.
The use of ultra-light materials, combined with a steel lattice structure, makes it possible to span large distances while ensuring high structural performance and excellent seismic resistance.
The Swimming Stadium represents a high-tech project in which urban design, architecture, and sustainability engage in dialogue with the natural character of the site and its historical context.
The development assumes a strategic role in the urban regeneration process of Taranto, generating a positive impact for both the city and the wider territory through the architectural quality of the sports facility and its integration within a coherent and sustainable urban framework.
