Aquatics Palace

The Aquatics Palace is a large indoor sports complex on the bank of the Kazanka River in Kazan’s Novo-Savinovsky District, one of the largest and most technically advanced aquatics centres in Russia and Europe. It stands alongside “Kazan Arena” and the “Ak Bars” Combat Sports Palace, together forming a single cluster of sports venues built for major international competitions.

Construction ran from November 2009 and was completed in spring 2013 — the building was erected specifically for the World Summer Universiade, where it hosted swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events. Two years later, from 24 July to 9 August 2015, the palace became the venue for the World Aquatics Championships; Julio Maglione, president of the International Swimming Federation, called it one of the best world championships in history, and Russian swimmer Yuliya Efimova won gold in the 100m breaststroke there.

The building’s design was developed by the SPEECH architectural studio under Sergei Kuznetsov and Sergei Choban, which won the competition together with the British firm Arup and the Kazan construction organisation PSO Kazan; the working documentation was produced by the Kazan Giproniiaviaprom institute. The palace’s main feature is its load-bearing structure of laminated timber three-hinged arches: pairs of curved beams form a repeating row of identical triangular sections, and the specially treated timber withstands the high humidity of the pools well while also giving the interior a warm character unusual for a sports facility. The facades are clad in glass curtain walls and polished stainless steel panels, whose alternating matte and glossy strips create a “scaled” effect, especially noticeable from the riverside.

The complex seats 4,200 spectators and includes three pools: two measuring 50 by 25 metres — for swimming, water polo and training — and one measuring 33.3 by 25 metres for diving and synchronised swimming. A movable floor allows the depth of the pools to be adjusted depending on the activity, and a partition divides the competition pool into two 25-metre training sections. The palace also runs a children’s and youth sports school for water sports.

Today the palace combines the functions of an international sports arena and a municipal swimming centre: it hosts both major tournaments and training sessions for young athletes as well as classes for city residents. Together with the neighbouring sports facilities of the Novo-Savinovsky District, it remains a visible legacy of the 2013 Universiade and the 2015 World Championships, one that has shaped the modern appearance of this part of Kazan on the Kazanka embankment.

The Aquatics Palace is a rare example of a sports facility where the engineering solution of the roof and facade has itself become an architectural landmark, rather than merely a shell enclosing the pools.