The Hushan Sports Park Swimming Center in Jiangshan was designed by LYCS Architecture, which led the project's integrated architectural and interior design. Located in the heart of Hushan Sports Park, the facility is the first professional-grade swimming venue in the city to meet Class B national competition standards. With a total floor area of 14,244 square meters, the center includes a standard competition pool and a training pool, serving as a multifunctional venue that accommodates both professional events and daily public use.
Upon completion, the project made Jiangshan the first county-level city in Quzhou to fulfill the "one stadium, two arenas" public sports infrastructure system. The new swimming center not only significantly enhances the city's overall athletic facilities but also fills a long-standing gap in public swimming amenities. It provides a versatile space capable of hosting competitive events while serving the everyday needs of the local community.
Jiangshan has a long and storied history. In 931 AD, Qian Liu, King of Wuyue, renamed Xuxi County to Jiangshan County, inspired by the prominent Jianglang Mountain to the south. The city is defined by its rich cultural heritage and its landscape, where rivers and mountains intertwine. The swimming center is situated at the foot of Hushan (Tiger Mountain), facing the Jiangshan Port. It forms part of a broader sports complex that includes a 4,000-seat gymnasium within Hushan Sports Park and a 3,000-seat stadium at the adjacent Binjiang Senior High School. Together, this "one stadium, two arenas" configuration creates a comprehensive sports hub that serves both competitive events and the daily needs of the community.
The design concept draws from this geographical and cultural context, taking "river and mountain" as its central theme. The undulating architectural form responds to the surrounding mountain terrain, while fluid lines evoke the imagery of flowing water. The project aims to create a dynamic sports facility imbued with a sense of cultural resonance and topographic harmony.
The swimming center houses two standard pools: a 50-meter by 25-meter competition pool with eight lanes, and a 50-meter by 17-meter training pool with six lanes, both with a uniform depth of 2 meters. The dual-pool configuration is optimized to support both provincial-level competitions and daily training activities.
The facility adopts a dual-ground-level circulation strategy to optimize both operation and user flow. During regular use, spectators and athletes enter through separate entrances designated for their respective zones. During competitions, a more complex system is activated: the second-level spectator stands, dedicated corridors, and functional rooms enable the segregation of athletes, media, organizers, VIPs, and the general audience—minimizing cross-traffic and improving operational efficiency.
In terms of overall formal strategy, the architecture avoids symmetrical or enclosed compositions, instead employing a continuous transition between horizontal, sloped, and vertical surfaces to generate a free-form, folded massing in three dimensions. The curved roof surfaces are precisely calibrated through parametric modeling and structural analysis, enabling a seamless connection between the two halls on the east and west sides. This transition gives rise to a semi-open, interstitial public space—neither fully indoors nor out—that functions as a shared urban threshold.
The angular junction between the two halls serves as the circulation core of the facility, where the offset volumes create a spatial and visual anchor. Positioned at this intersection, the main spectator entrance is articulated through a spiraling, inward-folding roof form and an elevated, open platform—together establishing the most ceremonial moment of arrival within the project. This space functions not only as a node for viewing, gathering, and movement, but also as an extension of the urban public realm. It invites citizens to pass through, pause, and rest in a non-commercial environment, allowing the building to serve not just events, but the rhythms of everyday life.
The building's facade features a metal "scaly panel" system composed primarily of staggered folded plates. Each panel is embossed with a single angled crease, which interacts with the curvature of the elevation and shifting sunlight to create a dynamic, shimmering effect reminiscent of fish scales. This layered composition of points, lines, and planes enriches the material texture while visually amplifying the sense of flowing water and undulating terrain. The shifting density and rhythm between panels lend the continuous facade both cohesion and dynamic expressiveness across multiple scales.
The exterior envelope of the swimming center is composed of 2,943 uniquely shaped metal panels, covering a total area of approximately 17,000 square meters. Each "scaly" panel was inpidually coded through parametric modeling and fabricated as a non-standard component. During on-site installation, workers had to assemble the panels one by one at heights reaching up to 25 meters, placing demanding requirements on both fabrication accuracy and construction logistics.
The system not only reflects a high level of technical control over complex geometries, but also serves as a case study in the realization of a full digital-to-construction workflow—spanning parametric design, intelligent fabrication, and modular on-site assembly—within the domain of contemporary sports architecture.
The interior design continues the logic of the folded exterior envelope, applying a modular and "pixelated" language to the treatment of walls, ceilings, and signage systems. In the pool halls, the full-span roof structure is left entirely exposed, with trusses reaching up to 48 meters. This deliberate visibility highlights the structural logic and reinforces the spatial scale and sense of strength expected of a sports facility.
Walls and functional zones are articulated through a combination of colored metal panels, fluorocarbon-coated surfaces, and perforated elements. The use of color blocking and strategic contrasts introduces visual energy, enhancing the user experience. While maintaining overall spatial coherence, the design leverages materiality and construction detail to create a sports environment that balances functional clarity with spatial identity in everyday use.
More than a piece of urban sports infrastructure, the Hushan Sports Park Swimming Center serves as a testing ground for new models of public space generation. Its architectural form responds closely to the surrounding landscape, while its functional program balances the needs of competitive events and daily civic use. At the operational level, the project explores the integration of educational facilities, public services, and the sports industry—offering a spatial and institutional prototype for mid-sized cities seeking coordinated and multifunctional development.
River and Mountain | Hushan Sports Park Swimming Center
Location: Jiangshan, China
Client: Jiangshan Sports Bureau
Area: 14,244 ㎡
Detailed address: Hushan Sports Park, Jiangshan City
Design Date: 2022/04—2023/02
Construction Date: 2023/03—2025/07
Architectural Design: LYCS Architecture
Design team: Ruan Hao, Zhan Yuan, Lai Zhenyu; Duan Qin, Yin Yue, Yang Fan Shunze, Zhou Feixia, Chen Hao, Yuan Ran (Architecture); Zhang Lei, Wang Jialin, Zhang Xiaomin, Xie Jie (Interior)
Local Design Institute: ZIAD (Zhejiang Institute of Architectural Design)
Curtain Wall Design Consultant: Dake Robotics, ZIAD (Zhejiang Institute of Architectural Design)
Construction: Zhejiang Sanrong Construction Co., Ltd
Photography: Shan-Jian images、Luffy、Zhang Dengxing、Zhang Jianjun
Video: Luffy