With sustainability in mind, this timber building rose to be easily dismantled after ten years of use. The construction of Forum UZH, a Zurich training and research center designed by Herzog & de Meuron, required taking down four existing sports halls. The provisional Gloriarank replaces them until the completion of the Forum, which will include sporting facilities.

Despite its limited life time, it is defined by the uniformity and rigor of the details of striated facades alternating with openwork. Situated at the corner of a triangular site, it presents three wooden volumes addressing different situations of the immediate surroundings. The largest piece contains the sport courts; the smallest one accommodates changing rooms, showers, and toilets; and a windowless volume includes spaces for storage and technical services.

Maximizing the building’s degree of prefabrication by means of standardized products makes it possible to minimize construction times and costs as well as facilitate and speed up dismantling and possible future reconstruction elsewhere. Untreated wood was given priority in the choice of materials so that if the components were not reused in another project, the elements would be biodegradable.