Bale Sports Hall: 3LHD’s stone-clad building
3LHD designed Bale Sports Hall for school use and public events. Stone cladding on concrete panels follows the pattern of Istrian dry-stone walls.
Stone-faced concrete panels
The façades use reinforced-concrete panels faced with local Istrian stone. During production, pieces of stone were laid in moulds. Once the concrete had hardened, sand was washed out from between the stones, leaving recesses on the outer face that resemble dry-stone joints.
The architects took inspiration from kažuni, the local stone field shelters, and dry-stone walls, while using a prefabricated structure for the large hall. Stone also covers the roof, continuing the building’s stone envelope beyond its façades.
A school building for community use
The hall was built between 2005 and 2007 beside the existing school. A basketball court determines its dimensions, and a lower section containing changing rooms connects it to the school complex. From the outset, the design provided for community events as well as lessons and sport.
At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, the project received first prize in the sports category.
Outside Bale’s old town
The hall stands beside the school on Ulica Domenico Cernecca, southeast of the old town of Bale. It is marked as number 61 on the official town map, whose key is in Croatian and Italian. The school and Valle Gym have separate symbols.
Address: Ulica Domenico Cernecca, 52211 Bale