The unique site – an enclosed plot between the water sports centre, the stadium and housing, the gradient towards the Ariège River – gives rise to some essential questions. How can we create a unit consistent with the neighbouring buildings in a particularly mixed urban zone? How can we avoid a building of this scale not looking like a dull warehouse? Finally, how can we make this facility a high-performance location adapted to the needs of athletes but also an example in environmental terms? These essential questions have guided our project. The resolutely modern architecture is unambiguous. It plays the role of a “go-between” to listen carefully to the location. It aims to stand out whilst also respecting the setting. A symbol of the social ties formed each day, it seeks to form the necessary links with its environment.