Draft Text

Vitra Leisure Centre

Using architectural elements taken from the Vitra Design Museum building, the building has been re-envisioned as a leisure centre. By re-purposing certain features of the original structure, each element brings both the familiar aspects of the Vitra along with the functionality of a leisure centre. With the use of space found within the Vitra building, I found it was appropriate for features one would find in a leisure centre including a swimming pool, public bathrooms and an indoor gym.

The most prominent feature that can be seen in the Vitra’s redesign would be the slanted cube that can be found originally hanging above the main entrance. I have re-scaled it and placed it on the top of the building fixed on a tilted angle to serve as a slanted roof. Many of the shapes and structural forms remain similar to the vitra on the exterior including the staircase tower arc and triangular prism block are present to serve as homage to Frank Gehry’s Vitra Design Museum.

While much of the exterior reflects many aspects of the original Vitra, I have altered the purpose they serve by re-designing most of their interior functions for the building. The original staircase arc has been transformed into a second entrance into the building with glass encasing the exterior curve providing clear view windows into the building.

The original pillar to which the staircases lead to has been altered to serve as a separate set of stairs that eventually lead up to the entrance of a newly added water slide. The waterslide follows through from the tower directly into the swimming pool. This was inspired by the spiral staircase structure originally found in Frank Gehry’s Vitra Museum. While being an all new addition to the building, the water slide’s form I feel, relates to the context of the original building’s abstract appearance.

The roof mounted windows taken from the roof of the Vitra building has been moved and placed above the reception area as a sky light using only one section from the element, allowing natural light into the space. The curved roof form taken from the Vitra building has been expanded to support the main roof structure of the building.

The interior entrance leads through pass the public bathrooms into the pool area which splits off into two indoor gym areas, a staircase leading to the second floor weight area while a cycling area found through a doorway besides the pool. The cycling area of the building is modelled from the structural form found adjacent to the Vitra building entrance with a slanted slope.

With the spatial interiors and abstract exterior appearance of the Vitra, re-envisioning the building as a leisure centre felt appropriate with the final design resulting in a familiar building retaining elements from the original Vitra Museum and combining the functionalities of a leisure centre. Using the Vitra as a layout and transforming it into a leisure centre, it gives new purpose to the building while paying tribute to Frank Gehry’s original design and bringing it into the modern age.

Final Renders

10 Textures

Concept Model - Progression

Frank Gehry Research Building

Dancing House (Tančící dům)
Rašínovo nábřeží 80
120 00 Praha 2 (Prague)
Czech Republic

Frank Gehry 1996

The site of Gehry's Dancing House was originally occupied by a house in the Neo-renaissance style from the end of the 19th century. That house was destroyed during bombing in 1945, its remains finally removed in 1960. The neighboring house (with a small globe on the roof) was co-owned by Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel, who lived there from his childhood until the mid-1990s. He ordered the first architectural study from Vlado Milunic (who has been involved in re-building Havel's appartment in the neighboring house). Afterwards the Dutch bank ING agreed to build a house there, and asked Milunic to invite a world-renowned architect. Milunic first asked Jean Nouvel, who rejected the invitation because of the small size of the site (491 square meters); he then asked Frank Gehry, who and he accepted the challenge. Gehry had an almost unlimited budget, because ING wanted to create an icon in Prague. The construction started in 1994 and the house was finished in 1996.

Re-envisioning the Vitra Musuem

My concept idea for re-imagining the Vitra Museum is to incorporate elements taken from the building to create a leisure centre with an attached water slide. The exterior of the spiral staircase will be used to model the water slide extending from the model as many of the same aspects taken from the original Vitra will be incorporated into the exterior appearance. The leisure centre interior will feature a swimming pool with a water slide and an indoor gym area.

Vitra Design Museum

Progress images of Sketchup Model