Kugelgarn^® for the underground world of freestyle sports

The  award-winning rocksresort designed by Domenig Architects houses a facility that is unique in Europe: the Freestyle Academy LAAX. Covering around 2,000 m² in the basement of House M and L, a three-storey sports and event hall has been created that allows visitors to immerse  themselves in the world of skateboarding, trampolining and parkour.

The  particular challenge for planning and construction lay in the underground location: waterproofing against groundwater, complex  ventilation, smoke extraction and daylighting became key issues in the  execution.

The Freestyle Academy has created a space for exercise and socialising. The hall is divided into clearly zoned areas: skate bowl, trampoline world and parkour sector. A public zone with a café and  shops integrates the sporting part into the world of Laax in the canton of Graubünden and also allows people to meet in a cosy atmosphere.

The reuse of components from the old hall makes the project a showcase example of resource-efficient construction. The rocksresort above it meets the Minergie standard, uses regional materials such as Vals  quartzite.

In the public area, which also houses a café, Kugelgarn^® textile flooring was deliberately chosen. In the Creation asphalt 321 quality, it impresses not only with its resistance to heavy use, but  also with its tactile quality and characteristic colour effect, which lends the room atmosphere and warmth. In addition, the textile floor  covering, which is manufactured in Switzerland, is acoustically  effective and, as part of the overall package, ideal for heavy public traffic.

Kugelgarn^® thus fits seamlessly into the philosophy of the Freestyle Academy: movement, encounter and design at the highest level.