As the only permanent recreational building created for the occasion, the Olympics Aquatic Centre might stand out as the centrepiece of the 2024 Paris Games. It embodies the city’s ambition to host an event that’s much more sustainable than past editions, which it has achieved foremost by maximizing the potential of existing infrastructure. Even the OAC’s raison d’être was born of necessity: Prior to its construction, France simply did not have a building large enough to host a global swimming competition of this calibre. 

Photo by Salem Mostefaoui

With its handsome yet modest concave roof and slatted façade, the building in the suburb of Saint-Denis is also humbler in appearance than similar projects; to wit, the design by Amsterdam’s VenhoevenCS and French studio Ateliers 2/3/4 beat out fellow contenders in a competition that also included a billowy white statement piece by MAD Architects. More a fabric building (despite the fact that it stands alone) rather than an icon, the Olympics Aquatic Centre seems already poised to be taken up by the community in which it stands as a symbol of good, green architecture.

Photo by Salem Mostefaoui

Using timber as the main material, the winning team embraced an ethos of green design from beginning to end. The 90-metre-span curved roof goes a long way in accomplishing this goal of energy-efficiency. “Its suspended shape…strictly follows the required minimum space,” the architects explain, “thereby also minimizing the amount of air that needs to be conditioned during the coming 50 years.” In addition, the roof is lined in 4,680 square metres of photovoltaics, making it one of France’s largest solar farms. The PV panels are expected to completely offset the energy load of treating and heating the water in the centre’s various pools, and are forecasted to provide the nation with 20 per cent of its energy supply. 

Photo by Simon Guesdon

For now, the pros will have exclusive access to the facilities: the main 50-metre swimming pool, a 17-metre diving pool and a 25-metre training pool (a fourth pool is for swim lessons). They will compete in water polo, diving and synchronized swimming – and in boccia during the Paralympics – in a generous-hearted space where sunlight filters in from all sides. Spectators, of course, will also enjoy the venue, and its unique seating. The interior is divided into three sections that altogether accommodate 5,000 ticket-holders on recycled-plastic chairs. Le Pavé, a French start-up, made the recycled-bottle-cap stadium seats (half of which are permanent) with its patented thermal compression moulding technology.

Photo by Salem Mostefaoui

But the biggest green bona fides lie in the building’s longevity – and in its continued relevance to the community of Saint-Denis. The public will be able to start using the centre in June of 2025. They will experience its long-lasting, long-serving impact thanks to a versatile design. All of the pools are modular – their length can be adjusted with two movable platforms – while an adaptable floor enables the interiors to morph into spaces that host a wide range of activities, from five-a-side football and tennis to climbing (on a 1,000-metre-square rock wall). The centre’s transparent aesthetic will also resonate even more after the Olympic and Paralympic Games, making the everyday importance and enjoyment of sports and togetherness visible and accessible year-round. “This deliberate openness is part of the design strategy: sports facilities are social hubs, not closed blocks,” say the architects.

Photo by Salem Mostefaoui

In broader terms, the Olympics Aquatic Centre is a beacon for a much grander scheme. The commission also included the creation of a pedestrian walkway above the A1 highway that connects the OAC to the iconic Stade de France, as well a park that knits it even more tightly into the community context. It’s all part of a new development in the northern suburbs of Paris that will incorporate a 1.5-hectare park with 450 trees. “It was designed as a single ecosystem, a new architectural landmark in a metropolitan area undergoing profound change, which it will help to redevelop and revitalize,” the architects say.