MVRDV Designs Badminton Racket-Shaped Sports Haven in Shenzhen

Designed by MVRDV and Huayi Design, this world-class sports complex combines energy-efficient design with badminton-inspired architecture. By Nikitha Sunil Vallikad

Shenzhen’s Pingshan District is set to host China’s National Badminton Training Centre within a project designed by renowned architecture firm MVRDV in collaboration with Huayi Design.

The ambitious complex, aptly named “The Sweet Spot,” merges functionality with a creative nod to the sport of badminton, positioning itself as a prominent international facility for athletic training, public recreation, and sustainability.

MVRDV, an architectural powerhouse known for their playful yet pragmatic designs, is no stranger to large-scale, multifunctional projects. With successful works like the Tianjin Binhai Library and Valley in Amsterdam, they have consistently pushed the boundaries of design while meeting stringent environmental and social needs. In this latest venture, MVRDV brings a new level of innovation to Shenzhen’s sports scene by combining the rigorous demands of national-level sports training with an accessible public space.

At the heart of the 135,000-square-metre Pingshan Sports Park is a striking, 240-metre-long roof in the shape of a badminton racket’s head, symbolising the project’s central theme. The roof structure is more than an architectural flourish—it incorporates a grid reminiscent of racket strings and is fitted with photovoltaic panels, reducing the energy footprint of the complex. This gesture towards sustainability is seamlessly woven into the project’s design, a hallmark of MVRDV’s approach to marrying form and function.

According to MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs, the design “tackled the requirement head-on, with a fun and easily readable concept that anyone can appreciate, while also ensuring the project remains efficient, sustainable, and social.”

The facility includes a state-of-the-art arena, warm-up areas, and training courts for the national badminton team, offering athletes privacy and top-notch amenities across a split-level design. These dual layers allow for the separation of public areas from private training spaces, ensuring that professional athletes can train in peace while still fostering a lively public atmosphere on the ground level. A key feature is the “sweet spot” plaza, a communal area that serves as the heart of the complex—both a literal and metaphorical point of connection between athletes and the public.

Adjacent to the training centre stands a striking, 23-storey tower inspired by a badminton shuttlecock, blending sports symbolism with practical design.

This tower houses a mix of hotel rooms and short-stay apartments, catering to athletes and visitors alike. Nearby, two commercial buildings also draw inspiration from badminton rackets, further embedding the sport into the architectural language of the entire complex. A significant feature of this project is its inclusivity. Beyond the professional badminton facilities, the complex offers courts for basketball, football, tennis, and even a swimming centre, making it a community hub for local residents. This accessibility extends to the area beneath the Pingyan Expressway flyover, where MVRDV designed a space for outdoor sports like skateboarding, mini basketball, and table tennis. This integration with the surrounding urban fabric ensures that Pingshan Sports Park doesn’t just cater to elite athletes, but also to the everyday fitness needs of Shenzhen’s residents.

However, the design’s symbolic nod to badminton raises a question: does the heavy-handed reference to the sport limit the project’s flexibility for future adaptation?

While the roof and tower’s shapes evoke a clear connection to badminton, some may argue that this thematic consistency could hinder the park’s ability to evolve as the needs of the community change.

In terms of its environmental impact, MVRDV’s emphasis on sustainability is commendable. The photovoltaic panels on the roof and the emphasis on a green, interconnected park extending under the expressway suggest that the project will make strides toward energy efficiency. Yet, as with all large-scale urban developments, the long-term ecological footprint of maintaining such a vast facility remains a topic worth monitoring.

MVRDV’s Sweet Spot presents a bold, imaginative vision for Shenzhen—a project that not only celebrates the sport of badminton but also fosters a community spirit and contributes to the city’s sustainability goals.

While its design may be rooted in the sport, the project’s broader implications on urban connectivity, public access, and environmental responsibility make it an important addition to the architectural landscape.

Whether its badminton-centric focus stands the test of time or proves too specific will be a conversation for years to come, but for now, it stands as a triumph of creative, functional design.

FACTFILE

Project Name: The Sweet Spot

Location: Shenzhen, China

Year: 2024 –

Client: Pingshan

Size and Programme: 135,197m2 (Sports park and Chinese National Badminton Training Centre) hotel, retail

Credits

Architect: MVRDV

Founding Partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs

Partner/Director: Wenchian Shi

Design Team: Tadeu Batista, Luca Xu, Chi Zhang, Amanda Galiana Ortega, Yifei Zhang, Ilaria Furbetta, Cai Huang, Xiaodong Luo, Ioanna Kleio Vontetsianou, Kiril Emelianov, Cosimo Scotucci, Angelo la Delfa, Jaroslaw Jeda

Copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries

 Partners:

Co-architect: Hong Kong Huayi Design Consultant ltd
Structural engineer, MEP, & Cost calculation: Hong Kong Huayi Design Consultant (SZ) ltd
Visualisations: Atchain, Imperfct, MVRDV

All Images Courtesy Atchain, MVRDV