Credit: Marc Detiffe, L’Escaut ArchitectsBelgium’s Ice Rink of Liège looks awesome — and it’s functionality is even better.
The whale-shaped ice rink’s exterior consists of 200,000 aluminum tiles to insulate the building and keep the ice cool with less energy, Fast Company reported. As if that isn’t sustainable enough, the heating and ventilation system recycles energy, sending unused heat to a nearby shopping center.
The building features 9.5-inch-thick insulation and few windows to reduce cold loss, a gray exterior to keep out heat, and different set temperatures for the ice rink and the café area. Two large ice compressing units provide the heat for hot water and air conditioning.
David Crambert of L’Escaut Architectures, the firm that designed the building, told Fast Company the whale shape happened during the design process: “We realized bit by bit that the big window was becoming an eye and that the parking entrance could be seen as a mouth. Then we made a few twists to fully admit the resemblance.”
Credit: Marc Detiffe, L’Escaut Architects
