With the advent of the Olympic Games in Paris—after an entire century—just around the corner, the historically and culturally rich suburbs of Saint-Denis prepare for a grand welcome with the award-winning Aquatics Centre. Designed by Cécilia Gross of VenhoevenCS and Laure Mériaud of Ateliers 2/3/4/, it is the sole permanent building out of all the new structures built to host the Paris Olympics 2024. Along with an expansive green public space, a new pedestrian bridge connects the building with the largest stadium in the country, Stade de France, which sits across the Avenue du Président Wilson, a major thoroughfare that connects the area’s key infrastructure and landmarks. The project is a part of Paris’ urban renewal strategy, aspiring to contribute to a longstanding legacy for the neighbourhood and beyond.

On top of catering to multiple functions, the Centre takes up the challenge of having a low carbon footprint, carbon storage and a circular flow of water and energy. The innovative and climate-conscious nature of the project won it the Le Grand Prix du Grand Paris 2023 award at the Low Carbon Real Estate Fair SIBCA in Paris, acknowledging everyone associated with the successful project. Moreover, the sports architecture and its pedestrian crossing won the Grand Prix BIM d’Or award, honoured for its innovative and responsible vision of the project’s contextual landscape.

French architect Cécilia Gross joined the Dutch firm VenhoevenCS in 2003 out of fascination for Dutch architectural projects, later becoming a partner director in 2017. VenhoevenCS is committed to promoting nature-inclusive design and smart architecture, garnering a variety of urban development and infrastructure projects. Laure Mériaud, one of the 12 partners at the French architecture, landscape and urban design agency Ateliers 2/3/4/; specialises in developing urban and housing projects, public infrastructure, and cultural and sports facilities. Their collective expertise successfully realises this ambitious urban intervention, increasing anticipation for its future reception at the Olympics 2024.

The building features inclined walls sheathed in horizontal wooden members—creating a warm, inviting facade design. The form of the expansive wooden roof resembles a gentle wave, reflecting the fluidity of the pool on the floor. A large glass wall heightens the sensory experience for the visitors as it illuminates the Olympic pool and builds a visual connection with the magnificent Stade de France. It also offers glimpses of the interior design to the passersby, encouraging curiosity for learning and participation.

Using bio-sourced wood as a construction material brings warmth and comfort to the arena while addressing the structural, aesthetic, acoustic, energy, social and urban concerns. The wooden roof rests at an optimal height above the building to minimise its volume and consequently lower the air conditioning requirements. Under the roof, an innovative, modular and multifunctional competition pool is enclosed by tribunes on three sides.

The Aquatics Centre measures a floor area of about 20,000 square metres with a capacity of 5,000 spectators, accommodating a leisure pool, a 50-metre Olympic pool, a warm-up pool, a restaurant design, a fitness area, dressing rooms and other administration and service areas over three major levels. The Centre will host diving, synchronised swimming and water polo qualifiers for the Olympics, and serve as a training venue for swimmers for the Paralympics.

Since the maintenance of swimming pool designs, especially at this scale, results in high energy consumption, a smart energy system obtains 90 per cent of the required energy from renewable sources. A solar roof spanning over 5,000 square metres, one of the largest solar farms in France, makes up for 20 per cent of the total energy demand. 50 per cent of the water used in the pools is recycled and reused. Local eco-construction companies have crafted 100 per cent recycled and recyclable seats from plastic bottle caps for the stadium. The Aquatics Centre showcases an exemplary synergy of technical innovations to achieve energy efficiency and a sustainable design.

Once the events conclude, the stadium will continue to function; its capacity will be reduced from its current number to become a multi-sports complex for the neighbourhood and professional athletes in tandem. The facility will feature a spectrum of spaces for fitness and training alongside dedicated areas and pitches for individual and team sports. The modular design of the Olympic pool allows flexibility for future use, with the possibility of achieving a basketball court and a football field in the configuration.

The 18-metre-wide pedestrian bridge, running over the A1 motorway and connecting the building to Stade de France, spans nearly 100 metres—connecting public spaces around Stade de France with the Aquatics Centre. With a proposal of 100 trees and shrubs to be planted in the abutting park, the centre intends to foster an environment that prioritises quality of life, biodiversity, and connections with nature in the new ‘city-district-in-the-making.’ Several small businesses from the neighbourhood have worked on the project, leading to employment opportunities and the growth of these startups.

Weaving together sustainability, technological innovation, architectural know-how and landscape design integration, the Aquatics Centre by VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4/ for Paris 2024 strives to meet the global standards of the prestigious Olympic and Paralympic Games. But its contributions transcend beyond the bounds of the Games, melding into the present and future urban fabric of Saint-Denis and reaching out to its people. Unlike most event-related expansions that live only as long as the Games, this public architecture aims to hold its ground as a dynamic social nerve centre—an urban catalyst. The intervention, more specifically, its defiance of impermanence, also broaches a critical discourse: as the city of Paris, akin to any other host city, evolves and transforms to welcome thousands of athletes, professionals and sports enthusiasts from across the world, what happens to these offshoots after? What does the city do with its remnants?

Paris 2024: Explore STIR's extensive coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games through features, insider interviews, and thoughtful insights across architecture, design and art, to find out how the global sporting event engages the French capital across these creative avenues and beyond.

Project Details

Name: Aquatics Centre Paris 2024
Location: 361 avenue du Président Wilson, 93200 Saint-Denis, Paris
Client: Métropole du Grand Paris
Architects: VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism, Amsterdam, and Ateliers 2/3/4/, Paris
Project partners: Cécilia Gross and Laure Mériaud
Landscape architect: Ateliers 2/3/4/
Calendar: 2018-2025
Floor area: approximately 20,000 square metres