The remodelling of the "Haus des Sports" begins

A major new building construction project for the city of Chemnitz began today: For more than 7.12 million euros, the city is converting the "Haus des Sports" in the Sportforum on Reichenhainer Straße, which was previously used by the sports department, into a boarding school for sports students.

More space, including for leisure rooms, is to be created at the same time through an extension to the building. The local authority is financing around 4.29 million euros of the project budget itself and 2.83 million euros is funding from the state of Saxony.

Once the project has been completed, 182 modern boarding places will be available in the remodelled and extended building. This will improve both the living conditions and leisure facilities for 125 boys and 49 girls aged 9 to 18. Two barrier-free residential areas will also be created as part of this construction project.

The sports students currently still live in the other of the two buildings on the Sportforum site, which were built in 1972 and are now in need of renovation. Once the students have moved into their new boarding school in 2017, the wing they previously occupied will be refurbished for sports clubs and associations.

A physiotherapy centre for top athletes moved in last year. The modernised rooms - including a larger gymnastics room - offer better therapy and treatment options.

The sports boarding school building was only transferred from the Free State to the City of Chemnitz in 1995. Today, up to 40 per cent of sports students use these boarding school places offered by the city. With the prospect of an improved housing situation, the municipality also fulfils the requirements that the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) places on "elite schools of sport". Chemnitz Sports High School and Sports High School have held this title, awarded by the DOSB, since 2013. The title is awarded to educational institutions that combine a training centre, school and living space in close proximity for the management of school and training processes.

What is being built now?
So far, only minor repairs have been carried out on both the sports boarding school and the former "Haus des Sports". Not only is the structural condition of both buildings in need of renovation, the boarding school also lacks leisure and communal areas. This is set to change for the better in the course of the complex remodelling project, which will last until the end of 2017. An extension to the southern gable will add around 85 square metres of space for new recreational and common rooms in the "Haus des Sports". While there is currently only one recreation and common room on each of the four sports boarding school floors, the first to fourth floors will each have two such rooms in future.

First of all, the former "Haus des Sports" has to be completely gutted and all fixtures, including doors, windows, old pipes, cables and radiators removed. In the meantime, the excavation pit for the extension is being dug. The foundation, floor slab and walls should be completed before the end of the summer, so that the renovation trades can then work in both the new and old parts of the building.

All electrical, water, waste water and district heating services in the gutted wing are to be replaced. In future, heat will be generated by a district heating station that regulates both the heating and the ventilation. Sanitary facilities and the serving kitchen will be equipped with a supply and exhaust air system with heat recovery. As part of the project, the fire protection systems are also to be brought up to date. Furthermore, an internal lift will provide barrier-free access to the building.

The new sports centre will be partially clad with a thermal insulation composite system. The planners have come up with a colourful look for the exterior. In future, colour-coated aluminium surfaces will cover the multi-storey building like a second skin. The aluminium fronts are mounted on a frame surrounding the building.

The main entrance will also be visually enhanced by a generous open staircase made of light-coloured natural stone. The final stage of the project is the redesign of the outdoor area. Benches and a large tree providing shade will be the future leisure centre for the sports students.

What will improve for the sports students?
Up to now, the young people have usually lived in pairs in a room with 13 square metres of living space each and share a sanitary room with all the residents on each floor. There will be more privacy in the new boarding school building. Four-person residential units are being created on all four floors and on the ground floor, in which two residents share a room and the four residents now have a shared bathroom and toilet.

While there was previously only one small kitchen and one common room per floor, this number will be doubled in future. In addition, a multifunctional room will be created on the ground floor of the new boarding school building, which could potentially be used as a serving kitchen with a dining room. Other living areas, including those for disabled athletes, will also be located on the ground floor.

In addition, the boarding school residents on the ground floor will have a larger leisure area for table tennis and billiards and a terrace. Two groups of 20 pupils each will occupy one floor, where their carers will have two rooms instead of one.

The pupils of the sports high school and the sports secondary school are regarded as promising young talents in the sports of ice hockey, basketball, wrestling, athletics, swimming, figure skating and speed skating, cycling, weightlifting, football, gymnastics, boxing and water polo.