Frontón Recoletos

The design of Torroja to cover the rectangular space of the court and grandstands, with dimensions of 55 m long by 32.5 m wide, is the most innovative aspect of this project and what really makes it unique. The solution given to the enclosure of the enclosure, consisted of a two cylinders, whose section was formed by two asymmetric circular arcs that were cut perpendicularly, covering the biggest the game zone and part of the low bleachers and the smaller the high bleachers. To cover the requirements of natural lighting was resorted to two large longitudinal skylights facing north and with a slope that would prevent direct entry of the sun to the site, so that players could not be dazzled. These skylights, formed by latticework constituted by equilateral triangles of reinforced concrete, of 140 cm of side and 17×30 of section, were located one in the union of both vaults, to illuminate the zone of game and the other, to illuminate the public area, in the lateral support of the small vault. The building was completed in record time, as the first game was played on February 29, 1936, a few months before the start of the Civil War. The Frontón Recoletos was the largest structure of this type built in Europe until that date, so a publication of Torroja about it won a prize in the contest convened in 1936 by the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Madrid. El diseño de Torroja para cubrir el espacio rectangular de la cancha y graderíos, con unas dimensiones de 55 m de largo por 32,5 m de ancho, es el aspecto más innovador de este proyecto y lo que realmente lo hace singular. La solución dada a la cubierta del recinto, consistió en un dos cilindros, cuya sección estaba formada por dos arcos circulares asimétricos que se cortaban perpendicularmente, cubriendo la más grande la zona de juego y parte del graderío bajo y la más pequeña el graderío alto.