How Sports Architecture for Performance Gives Athletes a Competitive Edge
By Ollimono Magazine | 9th April 2025
In today’s competitive world of elite sports, milliseconds can separate champions from contenders. But behind the medals and headlines lies a silent yet powerful force shaping every movement: architecture. From the steep banks of velodromes to the acoustics of stadiums, the design of a space can amplify speed, sharpen focus, and elevate performance.
“Great sports architecture isn’t just about design — it’s about high-performance engineering.”
Crystalzoo’s Luis Navarro Amorós Velodrome and the Olympic Stadium & Football Field in La Nucia are striking testaments to this intersection of architecture and athletic ambition, giving sports architecture for performance. These aren’t just beautiful structures. They’re tools of performance. Precision machines in their own right, engineered to help athletes push harder, move faster, and perform better.
What Was Buried Now Builds Champions: The Resurrection of a Velodrome Architecture
The Luis Navarro Amorós Velodrome is a story of resurrection. Left unfinished for over 40 years, it was reborn under Crystalzoo’s vision, balancing the memory of its past with the demands of modern performance. “We always wanted the vestiges of the past and the history of the building to remain,” says José Luis Campos, CEO of Crystalzoo. The structure now integrates seamlessly into its environment, with much of its function hidden underground and a vivid red origami-like crown serving as a beacon.
The velodrome’s geometry was dictated by national and international regulations, but its rebirth was a matter of finesse. The concrete track, finished with a four-layer SPORTPLUS system, is textured to offer optimal grip, even in wet conditions. These minute details, like the track’s incline and the texture of its surface, influence aerodynamics, resistance, and ultimately, cyclist performance. “The day I saw members of the Spanish cycling team training there, and they told me they loved the center—I felt filled with pride,” Campos reflects.
Pac-Man Meets Precision: Where Playful Design Powers Elite Performance
If the velodrome is about purity of performance, the Olympic Stadium & Football Field in La Nucia is about play and spectacle. Inspired by children’s games and the visual language of Pac-Man, this space fuses color, folds, and form into a dynamic landscape. Like a game unfolding in real-time, the architecture invites discovery.
But don’t let the playful exterior fool you. Underneath its origami skin lies a rigorous function: seating designed for optimal sightlines and acoustics, press and judge areas engineered with precision, and dual circulation pathways for players and spectators alike. “The stadium had to serve for local games and international broadcasts alike,” explains Campos. “From FIFA-grade lighting to photo-finish vantage points, every detail was calculated for high-performance.”
The turf? It’s the MONDOTURF NSF 88 system — used by the likes of FC Barcelona. Drainage systems, press areas, and even the internal flow of athletes post-game have been carefully crafted to reduce stress and elevate performance.
Brains, Beauty, and a Bunch of Rubble: The Secret Ingredients of an Olympic Stadium design
Beyond material and spatial planning lies the unseen element: the psychological effect of space. Good architecture can energize. Sports architecture for performance – should! It can shift an athlete’s mindset from survival to excellence. “Aesthetics always play a role,” Campos explains. “A beautiful, well-functioning space boosts optimism, and that contributes to performance.”
And the future? According to Campos, it’s rooted in empathy, sustainability, and intelligent simplicity. As sports facilities evolve, the focus is shifting away from monumental gestures toward human-scale, eco-conscious, and tech-enabled environments.
Take the Luis Navarro Amorós Velodrome, for instance. When Crystalzoo resumed work on the long-abandoned structure, they discovered remnants from the original perimeter that were no longer viable for modern use. “We found that the existing structure was unusable,” Campos recalls. “Load tests showed it couldn’t be salvaged, and the cost of adapting it made renovation economically unviable.”
But instead of shipping tons of rubble to landfills, Crystalzoo made a bold choice: to reuse the material right there on-site. The debris was crushed and repurposed to create a series of vegetated hills framing the project. These soft, sculpted mounds now anchor the velodrome into its surrounding landscape, blending nature with performance infrastructure while significantly reducing the project’s carbon footprint.
“We like to think of ourselves as market chefs,” Campos says. “We work with zero-kilometer design projects, using materials from the surrounding area to minimize transportation and emissions.”
This commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop at recycled rubble. The velodrome and stadium both integrate smart systems for data collection and performance analysis. Support buildings serve as hubs for athletes and federations, allowing them to review training sessions, track progress, and fine-tune results using advanced technologies.
In Crystalzoo’s world, architectural innovation isn’t just about what you build — it’s about how, and for whom. The past is never discarded; it becomes part of the landscape, part of the rhythm, and part of the performance.
The Luis Navarro, Amorós Velodrome, Photography by David Frutos | Architecture by CRYSTALZOO
Sports Architecture for Performance – the Core
“The best sports facilities aren’t just where competition happens — they’re where greatness is engineered.”
As athletes chase faster times and sharper edges, architecture is no longer just a backdrop—it’s part of the performance. The walls, curves, materials, and even shadows matter. Designing for speed and precision means understanding the athlete not just as a competitor, but as a human moving through space.
And in that space — designed, calculated, and built with intent — the extraordinary becomes possible.