Multifunctional sports village

The sports complex Holbæk Sportsby is an El Dorado for the citizens in and around the Danish town of Holbæk, Zealand, who can now engage in a wealth of sports on 23,000 square metres of tennis courts, swimming facilities and much more. The complex also includes a Health Centre.

Troldtekt acoustic panels have unique sound-absorbing properties and ensure superior acoustics in, for example, sports halls
Photo: Helene Høyer Mikkelsen, architect

Holbæk Sportsby was conceived and designed as a village of houses, streets, squares and surrounding countryside – a local leisure centre with the flexibility needed to double as a venue for large events such as concerts or conferences. 

A total of 27 clubs and associations make use of Holbæk Sportsby’s facilities. The scale of the complex is dominated by its large sports halls, and there has been a particular focus on creating calm surfaces and good acoustics in those spaces. A specially selected grey colour is featured on columns, wall surfaces and Troldtekt acoustic panels as a calming ‘background colour’ for the many activities taking place.

The artist Stine Deja has decorated the adjacent changing rooms using other colours and added, for example, grates inscribed with text. Speakers concealed in the Troldtekt acoustic ceilings create a soundscape of water sounds from Holbæk Fjord.

Subtle shades of colour

The Health Centre’s primary task is to provide a range of health and rehabilitation services to citizens in and around Holbæk, such as citizens wanting to change their habits due to illness. 

For such purposes, the centre includes fitness, treatment and interviewing rooms. The blue shades used for the interiors of these rooms build on the grey colour of the sports facilities. A long wall has been clad in vertical, narrow bands of graduated Troldtekt panels becoming lighter towards the ceiling.

As a decorative element, the panels add vibrancy and a sense of lightness to the room – as well as improving the acoustics due to the sound-absorbing qualities of the Troldtekt panels.