Shanghai Velodrome

Located north of the Shanghai Chongming National Sports Training Base, the Shanghai Velodrome is a world-class indoor cycling venue integrating training, competition, research, and professional education. With a site area of approximately 64,700 square meters and a gross floor area of 33,300 square meters, the project fills the gap in Shanghai’s indoor velodrome facilities and serves as the southern training base for the national cycling team. Situated on Chongming Island, China’s national ecological island, the architecture responds directly to its natural context.
The façade is inspired by reeds, a defining local landscape element, expressed through rhythmic concave double-curved surfaces that reinterpret natural forms in a contemporary language. Fan-shaped hyperbolic surfaces, tapering inward and outward, resemble blooming white petals formed by alternating aluminum panels and glass, assembled into a crown-like volume with strong sculptural presence. The roof abstracts the image of a bicycle wheel, using a spoke-like suspended cable structure to create a radiating, serrated profile that conveys speed, motion, and rhythm.
Lighting design closely follows the architectural concept, using light as a sculptural tool to reinforce form and express the spirit of sport. In-ground uplighting enhances the petal-like surfaces, making the image of a blooming flower more vivid at night, while pole-mounted floodlighting softly washes the reed-inspired concave façades, evoking a moonlit landscape. Together, these layers of light transform the building into a luminous crown with a refined artistic quality. Roof lighting interacts with the spoke structure to suggest wheel rotation, strengthening the building’s cycling identity. A flexible multi-scene lighting control system, with interfaces reserved for event lighting, enables the venue to adapt to competitions and special occasions, establishing the Shanghai Velodrome as a distinctive night-time landmark and a symbolic gateway for cycling culture.