Viewpoint masonry Liapor and its advantages in building a sports hall

The construction of sports halls in the Czech Republic is not as common as projects for administrative or commercial centers, as the return on investment can be expected over a much longer time frame. If a bold investor is found, they will bet all their cards on a multipurpose facility that will serve not only for sports but also for other activities, such as cultural and social events. One of the interesting projects in recent years has been the construction of the Polárka multifunctional arena in Frýdek-Místek. The investor was the city, which advocated for the construction of a new hall on the site where the original old multifunctional hall had served for many decades. Polárka is located in close proximity to the Frýda shopping center, creating one comprehensive complex. The project for the Polárka Hall was designed by the company OSA projekt, s.r.o. from Ostrava, and the general contractor was GEMO Olomouc, s.r.o. The realization took place from 2013 to 2014.

Foundation of the Polárka Hall's construction
The hall was built as a compact arena with an external accent on the entrance area, which is formed by a glass facade inserted into a slanted recess. The minimalist design of the hall highlights the atmospheric backlighting of the facade's cladding elements in the dusk and at night. According to the project's authors, it is always important to address three critical challenges with these types of buildings - thermal technology, acoustics, and, of course, architecture. The structure of the hall building is designed as a partially prefabricated and partially monolithic reinforced concrete skeleton with a roof made of steel construction. The load-bearing structure of the light external shell was realized using steel columns and lattice structure columns. Polárka is a multipurpose hall, with its main function being an ice surface adapted for ice hockey, figure skating, and public skating. By laying down a floor, Polárka can also be utilized for ball sports. Because the indoor hall space was carefully considered from the perspective of acoustics, which is visually apparent (the ceiling is fitted with many acoustic elements), various cultural events such as concerts are held here. In terms of layout, the hall is divided into three parts - an eastern stand with a capacity of 1,446 seated spectators, the ice surface, and a western stand for 593 seated spectators. The facility includes the necessary areas required for the operation and maintenance of the hall, including additional auxiliary zones such as a gymnasium for badminton with two courts, a shooting range, etc.

Viewable masonry from Liapor
Light concrete blocks Liapor for external walls, load-bearing walls, acoustic walls, partitions, and visible masonry are made from ceramic Liapor concrete, which, due to its specific structure, provides blocks with low volumetric weight (450 to 2,000 kg/m³), high strength (2 to 80 MPa), good thermal conductivity coefficient, high fire resistance, and excellent acoustic insulating properties. These are made possible by the principle of cellular sound attenuation in the gaps between the grains and its subsequent absorption. Liapor blocks are often used as visible masonry in commercial spaces, which aim for an industrial character. Besides the undeniable aesthetic aspect of "raw concrete," it also becomes important that masonry made from Liapor does not need to be plastered. This alone saves the implementer technological time (not to mention the quick way of laying bricks). The rough surface structure of the masonry is desirable in certain areas, and if necessary, a colored spray is applied, achieving a coherent character. Furthermore, Liapor blocks are quite resistant to mechanical damage. "That is also one of the reasons why they are used in sports halls like Polárka, where the maintenance-free system is of significant importance," says Tomáš Lehnert, a co-author of the Polárka Hall project from ADEA projekt, s.r.o. (formerly OSA projekt).

Liapor masonry in the Polárka project was realized in several construction sections. In the external wall of the western stand, Liatherm 365 P4 and Liapor M 240 P12 blocks were used, which were laid on thin mortar beds (usually leveled with thermal insulation mortar Thermovit) into the reinforced concrete skeleton and steel structure, and subsequently insulated using a contact thermal insulation facade system with insulation thickness of 120 or 100 mm, or in combination with a ventilated facade and external cladding. Similarly, the masonry in the eastern part of the stand was implemented with thicknesses of 365 and 240 mm. The previously mentioned types of blocks, as well as Liapor R 195, R 100, and M 115 P4, were utilized in other interior spaces, meaning in the players' and technical facilities of the hall, in the area of ticket counters, entrance passages to the stands, in the refreshment area, and in the spaces of the shooting range and badminton courts. For the sake of maintaining integrity and a uniform character, Liapor door lintels were also used everywhere. It must be said in this context that although the acoustic properties of the masonry were not a priority in this case, Liapor blocks nonetheless contributed to improving the acoustics in the quiet zone and certainly within the hall's facilities. The masonry in Polárka was realized from the perspective of visibility as jointed and was treated with a covering unifying coating that also serves as a pore-sealing function, thus preventing dust accumulation. In total, approximately 2,460 m² of Liapor masonry was used in the Polárka hall.

For the same reasons, namely from the perspective of visibility, aesthetics, and maintenance-free operation, Liapor has also been used in sports complexes such as Kravaře, a sports hall in Třinec, Karlovy Vary, Cheb, Prague, etc.

For more information visit www.liapor.cz