Dom Cox and Florence Shitemu's proposal challenges the elitism of Olympic skeet and trap shooting events by placing them in an urban setting
In his application, Dom Cox noted that the Paris 2024 Olympics skeet and trap shooting events were sited at Châteauroux, an 11th century castle 170 miles from the capital. It spoke to him about inequalities at the root of the sport, that participants mostly come from rural backgrounds where gun licenses are more likely to be issued. But the mega-sporting events taking place in urban centres led Cox to consider the inherent politics at play in relation to urban gun crime.
In a provocative but considered project, Cox and Shitemu proposed an arced arena with a flitched and laminated OSB seating structure, its translucent fabric awning supported on trusses. The political provocation was less in the architecture and more in the supporting argument – though West Fraser’s Claire Ironside thought it used her company’s products intelligently.
The political provocation was less in the architecture, and more in the supporting argument
Fellow judge Mark Osikoya said that, for Commonwealth Games England, ‘the underlying principle of taking elitist sports into areas that are not elitist, is a big focus’, and acknowledged that shooting would normally take place at an elite facility.
Soaad Stott said that even if the membrane was translucent, sightlines at a skywards angle might not be advantageous for a sport where spectators need to observe the clay as it’s shot in the air as much as the shooter on the ground. But these were easily resolved in an otherwise conceptually and structurally rigorous design that resonates all the more given Team GB’s success in trap and skeet events at the Paris Olympics.
See more on Zero to Hero
Introduction
This year’s judging process
Winner
Sport Climbing at Grant’s Quay Wharf by Alcove Architecture
Commended
Sportholder No.1 by Kashdan-Brown Architects
Transformational Venue by woo architects