The Sport District
Project
Competition, Sports Complex
Location
Codroipo, Italy
Year
2026
İnci Shoainia, Emil Shoainia
Project name
FIELD OF TRANSITION
Degree
Finalist
This project was developed as part of a competition aimed at redesigning the existing sports area in Codroipo, with the goal of transforming the fragmented and functionally weak sports infrastructure, as defined in the specifications, into a holistic urban system.
The competition calls for the reconnection of existing facilities, the addition of new public functions, and the transformation of the area into a vibrant social hub throughout the day. In this respect, the project, rather than separating the contrast between dense urban fabric and open landscape, transforms this tension into a spatial continuity. The area is treated not as a void to be filled, but as a threshold to be transformed. The rigid and defined urban structure in the north gradually dissolves towards the open and permeable landscape in the south. Ground, program, and movement become the fundamental tools that make this transition visible and experiential.
SPATIAL ARCHITECTURE
The fractured diagonal axis, which forms the backbone of the project, is not merely a circulation line but a space-generating system. Movement along this axis progresses through moments of compression and expansion; transforming from rigid urban surfaces to more permeable and open spaces. Thus, the user does not simply use the space but experiences it as a transitional experience.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND PLACE
The gym structure is situated at the critical threshold between urban density and landscape openness. While defining an urban boundary to the north, it opens up to the landscape to the south, connecting two different spatial systems. Rather than being an independent object, the structure functions as an interface that filters movement, views, and ground relationships.
PROGRAM AND FOUNDATION STRATEGY
The program elements are conceived as nodes located along the diagonal spine. More intensive and defined activities are located in the north, while in the south, the program dissolves by integrating with the landscape. In this process, the ground becomes the basic material of the project; hard surfaces evolve into semi-permeable textures, and from there to natural landscapes, physically conveying the continuity extending from city to nature.
