Chess Club

Erick van Egeraat was invited by the government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous region to design the Chess Club in preparation for the 2010 Chess Olympiad. Expecting a lot of global media attention, the organizers understood the need to deliver a signature building that underlines the prosperous state the city is in, and to expand its role as an ambassador of the region and its hosting qualities. The Chess Club is situated close to the center of the city, on a plot located between Lopareva street and Kalinina street, opposite a popular park. The Chess Club building is designed around a central, double height, quiet playing hall with tribunes. This hall is very flexible in use in order to allow different events for the city to take place. Functions that require daylight, such as administration and individual playing halls, are spread around this hall. The final appearance of the Chess Club is a dynamic development of an orthogonal box. The facade is finished with zinc painted sheets. The sheets overlap each other like lozenges, thus being able to sustain the tolerances the extreme temperature differences require.