Building For Disassembly: Temporary Timber Sports Halls

Documents an innovative timber construction system designed by Zurich-based firm pool Architekten for temporary sport facilities on school campuses.

In 2020, the Swiss canton of Zurich commissioned Zurich-based firm pool Architekten with the design of a system for temporary sports halls to meet growing demand for such facilities on public school campuses. Each building is intended to remain at a single location for ten to fifteen years, until it is either relocated or stored for future reuse. pool Architekten proposed a prefabricated timber construction system that enables a variety of spatial configurations and appearances, allowing for careful integration into each site’s environment. The components are designed for up to three assemblies over a thirty-year total lifespan.

Building for Disassembly explores how pool Architekten applied the concept of design for disassembly to their underlying constructive principles, and investigates the manufacturing and initial assembly of these temporary sports halls. Conceived as a project journal, the volume documents―through images, plans, and texts―an important and innovative contribution to achieve sufficiency, sustainability, and circular economy in architecture and construction.

Zurich-based pool Architekten evolved from a discourse platform that staged workshops and debates on architecture and urban planning into a design firm. Organized as a collective of architects since 1998, they have won numerous public and private commissions, with a focus on residential and school building design and urban planning research.

 Ciro Miguel is a Brazilian-born Zurich-based architect, photographer, curator, and writer.