Daria Scagliola and Stijn Brakkee via Dezeen"> clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

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Daring Tennis Clubhouse Puts Spectators in Rooftop Bleachers

By Jenny Xie
All photos by <a href="http://www.scagliolabrakkee.nl/">Daria Scagliola and Stijn Brakkee</a> via <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/14/mvrdv-amsterdam-ijburg-tennis-clubhouse-the-couch-architecture/">Dezeen</a>
All photos by Daria Scagliola and Stijn Brakkee via Dezeen

From the consistently envelope-pushing Dutch architecture firm MVRDV comes a radical red tennis clubhouse that seems to blend into the landscape of the clay courts themselves. Located on one of the artificial islands making up the new IJburg neighborhood of Amsterdam, the recently completed facility features a curved roof that rises on one side to house a lovely lounge beneath and dips down on the other side to support bleacher-style seating on the roof.

Endearingly nicknamed "The Couch," this unorthodox spectator stand can seat up to 200 people. A commenter on Dezeen's coverage of the project makes a valid point that the amphitheater-esque setup means that most of the viewers will practically be limited to staring at one player or the other...but that will, at least, be good news for their necks.


· MVRDV completes Amsterdam tennis clubhouse with seating bowl on the roof [Dezeen]
· Is This The World's Coolest Contemporary Soccer Stadium? [Curbed]
· The Netherlands' Largest Market is MVRDV's 'Horseshoe' [Curbed]
· All MVRDV coverage [Curbed]