Start Slideshow
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautThe new Olympic Ice Rink in Liège was recently completed in December of 2012 - and oddly it resembles a beached whale laying on the city's streets. Located next door to <a href="http://inhabitat.com/updated-photos-belgiums-mediacite-shopping-mall-complete/" target="_blank">Ron Arad's Médiacité shopping mall</a>, the Liège Ice Rink was designed by <a href="http://www.escaut.org/architecture/ice-rink-of-longdoz/" target="_blank">L'Escaut Architecture</a>. Covered in hundreds of thousands of aluminum scales, the energy-efficient building keeps cool with the help of a high-performance envelope and cooling equipment inside.1
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautThe <a href="http://www.escaut.org/architecture/ice-rink-of-longdoz/" target="_blank">Olympic Ice Rink of Liège</a> provides new facilities for hockey, ice skating and leisure activities.2
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautLocated next to the Médiacité, the bulbous building has 1,200 seats and a surface area of 6,700 sq m capable of hosting international competitions.3
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautDuring construction the building's timber frame emerged in the shape of a whale and is covered with 200,000 aluminum scales.4
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautInside is the large rink, seating, a cafeteria, storage, skate sharpening and a viewing lounge.5
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautInside is the large rink, seating, a cafeteria, storage, skate sharpening and a viewing lounge. The seats were actually salvaged from the former ice rink in Coronmeuse.6
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautTo maintain a constant 16 deg C temperature and the perfect quality of ice, a number of energy efficient systems were implemented.7
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautThe exterior has minimal windows in order to create a high performance envelope with an insulation factor of K22, which is equivalent to a passive house envelope.8
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautTwo 1 MW refrigeration units are coupled with 4 sets of air coolers, and a ventilation system with a flow rate of 60,000 m3/h for dehumidifying the air of the rink.9
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautEnergy is reused wherever possible through heat recovery and a connection to the heating system of the shopping centre next door was installed in order to carry away part of the generated heat.10
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautThis has yet to be done, but will make both buildings more efficient.11
Ice Rink of Liège-l'EscautLiège's whale-shaped ice rink has premium facilities and an energy efficient design to provide an enjoyable time for all visitors.12
