Sokolski Dom Gymnastics Hall

The project combines the careful reconstruction of the historic Sokolski Dom in Osijek with a substantial new gymnastics hall, creating a contemporary training facility while preserving an important piece of the city’s architectural heritage. The existing building dates from the beginning of the twentieth century and is listed in the cultural heritage register. Its historicist composition and recognisable front façade, including classical and Greek-inspired elements, were restored with particular attention to the original architectural character.

The new intervention is positioned behind the historic building and is deliberately divided into two distinct parts. The first is a reflective glass volume containing changing rooms, circulation and the supporting facilities required by the gymnastics hall. Its mirror-like surface creates a visual pause between the old building and the larger contemporary addition. Rather than imitating the historic architecture, this transparent connector clearly marks the transition between different periods and functions.

Behind it, the main hall is conceived as a simple, rational and highly functional volume with generous natural light. Its concrete enclosure is wrapped in a textile façade whose orange colour, sharp angles and asymmetrical form express the movement, energy and precision of gymnastics. The vivid envelope also introduces a strong new identity into an area otherwise characterised by open sports fields and a seasonal ice rink.

The project is therefore based on contrast rather than imitation: solid and transparent, historic and contemporary, symmetrical and dynamic. By separating the new programme into a quiet connecting element and an expressive sports volume, the design preserves the dignity of the original Sokolski Dom while giving the complex the spatial and technical conditions required for high-level gymnastics training.