Zadar is well kown as a place that many professional sports people from around Europe often choose as their base for training camps. And specifically, its Višnik district has become a small “sports town”, with over 3,000 people coming here for their everyday practice.

The municipality wanted to attract a world-class sporting event to be held in Zadar. Given the already existing excellent aquatic facilities, diving was identified as the ideal sport to achieve this objective.

Hence, VVA was commissioned with the design of a diving centre capable of hosting international-class tournaments. In order to achieve this qualification, said structures need to comply with the strictest of regulations, not only in their composition and layout but also in terms of a centimetre-precise dimensioning of every element.

It follows that, faced with these strictures, most diving centres around the world look remarkably similar. However, our ambition was to make an architectural proposition that would stand out – where divers would feel that they were somewhere special, somewhere unique, when the circuit’s annual calendar brought them to our city.

Our design is a poetic gesture, where at first glance simple construction columns are “repurposed” as it were, for the sport of diving. The proposed structure is a Mikado-like set of columns and planks, arranged seemingly by chance, that create a unique and distinctive profile.

The proposal’s feasibility is validated by the simplicity of its construction design, as the pigmented concrete components will be prefabricated at factory, and easily assembled on-site.

And given that the structure will effectively only be used sporadically for its original sporting purpose, it will also serve an additional and important function: becoming a distinctive landmark, visible from any location in the city of Zadar, with the expectation of becoming one of its cultural symbols.