WHY CHOOSE TIMBER CONSTRUCTION?

Timber construction is now emerging as an essential solution for designing buildings that are sustainable, high-performing, and aesthetically pleasing. Used in a wide variety of projects, timber-framed buildings offer technical, environmental, and economic benefits that are increasingly winning over project owners, architects, and local authorities. From glued-laminated timber frames to timber frame structures, wood enables us to build differently.

 

Timber-framed buildings: An ecological and responsible choice

Building with a timber structure significantly reduces a project’s carbon footprint while choosing a naturally durable material. Timber is a bio-based, renewable material that naturally stores the CO₂ captured during the tree’s growth. On average, 35 cubic feet of timber used in construction stores around 2 205 pounds of CO₂. By comparison, producing 35 cubic feet of concrete emits around 507 pounds of CO₂, and 35 cubic feet of steel up to 4 190 pounds.
By choosing timber from sustainably managed forests (PEFC or FSC certified), projects help protect ecosystems and strengthen local supply chains. Timber also requires up to 5 times less energy to process than concrete or steel.

 

Glued-laminated timber and timber frame: Natural technical performance

Whether in glued-laminated timber for large spans or in timber frame for lightweight and modular structures, timber offers outstanding thermal and acoustic performance.
Naturally insulating, timber reduces energy loss. Its thermal conductivity is 10 times lower than that of concrete and 250 times lower than that of steel, making it a valuable asset for low-energy buildings. Its acoustic performance is also excellent: timber absorbs sound, greatly improving comfort in public, educational, or sports facilities.

 

Timber construction: Fast, clean, and precise building sites

One of timber construction’s key advantages lies in its speed of execution. Thanks to the prefabrication of structural elements in the workshop, construction times are significantly reduced, as are on-site disturbances. This control over the production chain also ensures high assembly precision and limits waste production.

 

A modern and warm aesthetic

Timber offers remarkable aesthetic value. As a living material, it brings warmth, authenticity, and elegance to buildings, while blending harmoniously into a variety of environments—urban, natural, or mixed. Its architectural potential is vast: glued-laminated timber frames allow bold shapes and large spans without intermediate columns, ideal for sports facilities or covered halls. Both indoors and outdoors, timber creates a sensory experience of space—reassuring yet contemporary.

 

Building with timber means building differently

At a time when expectations in construction are changing, timber construction stands out as a credible, innovative, and sustainable alternative. Whether for public buildings, canopies, sports facilities, or playgrounds, timber structures address the challenges of modern construction. More than just a material, timber represents a different way of thinking about building.

SMC2 playground : Where Play Meets Architecture

 

 

At SMC2, we believe that a playground can be far more than just a recreational space. It can become a place of emotion, learning, and intergenerational connection—where architecture, nature, and imagination come together.

Our approach? To design complete worlds of joy and interaction, where every structure is an immersive experience. From elevated obstacle courses to lookout towers, treehouse cabins, and cloud-shaped modules, our creations push the boundaries of traditional play areas.

 

Play Architecture: The SMC2 Vision

What is Play Architecture?

More than just a playground, play architecture is the art of designing playful spaces and constructing recreational structures. It combines building regulations with aesthetic, spatial, and layout concepts, while also considering the social and environmental dimensions of the structure and its integration into the surrounding area.

The Playground as a Living Space

Our playgrounds are not just equipment—they are fully architectural spaces designed to invite children to explore, climb, and dream, while offering parents, grandparents, and caregivers a place to share in those precious moments.
SMC2 structures are tall, open, and accessible: they’re made to climb, slide, run—and stay. Their verticality makes them strong visual landmarks—true totems in both urban and natural settings.

Narrative and Sensory Worlds

We create suspended worlds that blend dream and reality. Tree-like cabins, lookout towers rising above the landscape, climbing nets, trampolines, infinite slides—children explore, experiment, push their limits, gain independence, and spark their imagination.
Each play area is designed as an immersive adventure, where even the ground becomes part of the experience. Varied textures, vibrant colors, bumpy surfaces, and springy elements amplify the sensation of movement and discovery.

 

Playing Together, All Year Long

A Four-Season Covered Playground

One of the biggest barriers to playground use is weather. Too hot in summer, unusable in rain or cold—many playgrounds remain underused.
We believe play should never be limited by the climate. Our play areas can be covered using textile membranes, which offer effective protection from rain, sun, or snow, while still allowing soft natural light to pass through.

Our solution? Covered playgrounds, protected by lightweight and elegant textile or timber roofs.
These weather-resistant coverings allow year-round access. They filter UV rays, enable natural ventilation, and ensure comfort—without compromising on design.

Eco-Designed Play Architecture

At SMC2, sustainability is at the core of every project. We follow less is more principles: minimalist materials, lightweight structures, reduced carbon impact, easy maintenance, and long-lasting durability.
Each project is custom-designed to integrate harmoniously into its environment—whether a shopping center, urban park, mountain site, or schoolyard.

Intergenerational and Inclusive Design

Beyond aesthetics or technique, our playgrounds are designed to bring people together. Because play has no age, we include stairs, platforms, rest areas, and observation spots so all generations can share in the moment. Children, parents, seniors, educators—everyone finds their place in a welcoming, safe, and stimulating environment.

Accessibility is also a top priority: every child, regardless of their needs, should be able to play, move freely, and thrive.
Public authorities and schools alike report direct benefits: kids play longer, families stay longer, and intergenerational interaction increases.
The playground is no longer just equipment—it becomes a true living space.

 

Flagship Project:

 “Caterpilou,” the Giant Caterpillar in Lyon

In Lyon’s Confluence district, SMC2 built a spectacular playground called “Caterpilou”, shaped like a giant caterpillar.
Spread across 1,200 m², this colorful, monumental structure is 50 meters long and 12 meters tall, designed for children aged 0 to 14. Made of interconnected segments, the caterpillar offers a progressive experience tailored to each age group, with climbing nets, suspension bridges, tunnels, swings, 6-meter slides, and even a wavy floor.

Designed as a sensory, immersive, and inclusive experience, the playground includes modules accessible to children with reduced mobility.
This tailor-made project is a perfect example of SMC2’s ability to transform urban space into a safe and imaginative world—both playful and iconic.

Inaugurated in summer 2024, Caterpilou was an instant success, attracting nearly 3,500 children daily. It marks the first phase of a larger public re-greening plan, which includes planting 40 trees to create an urban forest.

 

Why Choose SMC2’s Play Architecture?

✔️ To create a four-season play space
✔️ To offer a sensory and immersive experience
✔️ To deliver iconic and sustainable architecture
✔️ To foster social bonds and inclusion
✔️ To enhance your site with a bespoke, high-value creation

With over 20 years of experience in sports and leisure facility construction, SMC2 brings to life a simple ambition with its Play Architecture offer: To make play not just a moment, but a way of building and living together.

In Bielefeld, a new sports canopy is being built on the district sports ground Stadion Rußheide. In collaboration with the Bielefeld City Sports Department and the Stadtsportbund Bielefeld e.V., an existing playing field will be covered, enabling it to be used all year round.

SMC2’s attractive design, tailor-made technical solution and economically attractive offer were key factors in the award process for Stadtsportbund Bielefeld e.V., who will be carrying out the project as the main contractor.

→ Timber construction: for a sustainable Sports canopy

Specifically, this involves the turnkey construction of a new sports canopy with a 23 m x 43 m covering surface above an existing playground with an adjacent long jump facility. This will enable the playground to be used all year round, regardless of weather conditions. SMC2 is planning a mixed load-bearing structure made of glued laminated timber and hot-dip galvanized steel. In addition to its positive carbon footprint, wood is attractive not only for its optical and thermal qualities, but also for its longevity and mechanical strength. Thanks to its low thermal inertia, the load-bearing wooden structure doesn’t heat up in the sun and therefore doesn’t contribute to overheating in summer. As a natural building material, it blends harmoniously into its surroundings. The glued-laminated timber used by SMC2, in use class 2 or 3 depending on exposure, has high mechanical strength and very low wood moisture content. It is therefore extremely durable, maintenance-free and vandal-resistant.

→ Photovoltaic roofing: for a positive-energy Sports canopy

To complete the sustainable concept, the building has a trapezoidal sheet steel roof and a south-facing roof slope of 7%. The roof surface thus offers optimum conditions for the efficient installation of a photovoltaic system over the entire surface. As a result, the courtyard becomes a positive-energy building, producing more electricity than it consumes.

 

In addition to the optimal orientation for the installation of a photovoltaic system, the shape chosen for the roof offers other advantages for the building. As it faces south, no drainage system is required to the north of the existing site. This means that the existing long jump track can be retained. When designing the supporting structure for the courtyard, the long jump track was covered with a lattice girder, so there are no pillars in this area. No foundations are required. This considerably reduces costs. What’s more, the six existing runways can be retained.

→ An environmentally-friendly canopy

In order to keep earthworks to a minimum, and to make as little impact as possible on the existing synthetic playing field, SMC2 also designed the foundations of the outdoor hall using screw piles, an extremely ecological and economical foundation system with total displacement piles, which makes the use of concrete and large earth movements superfluous.

The playground is complemented by a high-quality field strip with all-round ball protection netting “made in Germany”. For the evening, LED lighting is incorporated into the supporting structure of the building. The existing synthetic playing field and long jump track will be renovated as part of the construction project.

SMC2 is looking forward to working with all those involved in the project, and is proud to contribute to the modernization of Bielefeld’s sports infrastructure and to climate protection with its sustainable building concept!

On 20^th March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its 6th report. The result is more than worrying. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase as well as exacerbating climate risks, as can already be seen concretely (heat waves, extreme rainfall, droughts, melting of the cryosphere, behavioral changes in many animal species, etc.). The report confirms what can be read and heard everywhere: there is an urgent need for action!

Construction Companies in the sports sector have also understood that clubs and municipalities are becoming more and more aware of this emergency. Unfortunately, some companies tend towards so-called greenwashing and use arguments that can sometimes be misleading when communicating about the sustainability of their products.

GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCE OF SPORTS FACILITIES: THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY MUST ACT!

It is important to know that the environmental assessment of products is regulated by international standards. Two important and untouchable sets of rules apply to the life cycle analysis or life cycle assessment of a product: ISO 14040 on the principles and framework conditions of life cycle assessments and ISO 14044 on requirements and guidelines for conducting life cycle assessments.

In addition, EN 15804 stipulates that the life cycle assessment of two building materials must be compared on the basis of the respective EPDs (Environmental Product Declaration). The EPD of a product takes into account the environmental impact over the entire life cycle, from the production stage (phases A1 to A3), transport and construction / installation in the erection stage (phases A4 to A5) through the use stage (phases B1 to B7) to the disposal stage with dismantling and waste treatment (phases C1 to C4).

The construction industry has a significant share in climate change: It causes 38% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the CO2 pollution it causes in our environment has many sources. It is therefore crucial to change habits and design and construct buildings – including sports facilities – in a way that limits climate change and CO2 emissions.

What can we do?

As a leading European company for the design and construction of sports and leisure facilities, SMC2 has been committed to sustainable construction since its foundation in 2003. With structures made of wood and textile building envelopes, our sports facilities always have a clean ecological balance.

In order to compare the sustainability of our concept with conventional steel halls, we compared the CO2 balance of two comparable projects. Both projects involve the construction of an open-air hall over a pitch with net dimensions of 15 m x 30 m:

1. the open-air hall built by SMC2 in Siegen (Germany) with a wooden structure and membrane roof
2. a comparable open-air hall with a steel structure and metal roof

The calculation basis was the data from the EPDs of the used building materials. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the building materials is considered here, which differs primarily in the production phase (phases A1-A3), since it can be assumed that the construction phase is of similar importance for both projects.

As far as the GWP is concerned, the facts are clear: with greenhouse gas emissions of 45 tons of CO2 equivalent, the steel hall has a significant environmental impact in the manufacturing phase of the building materials. In contrast, the solution from SMC2 not only produces significantly fewer emissions in this phase, but also saves 15 tons of CO2 equivalent calculated over the life of the building.

 

The two compared solutions meet the same usage requirements: They offer athletes protection from the weather and strong sunlight and enable sports activities all year round. Isn’t it better to prefer the more environmentally friendly solution?

 

THE SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION OF SMC2

We at SMC2 know the data of the EPDs since the beginning of our activity. For this reason, we have always favoured a combination of wood from sustainable forestry and textile membrane for most of our sports facilities, especially outdoor halls.

Through the photosynthesis of CO2, wood stores carbon during its growth phase. This carbon sequestration, which lasts at least for the lifetime of the structure, makes wood the only building material with a negative carbon footprint, making it a valuable ally in the fight against global warming.

According to the IPCC, it is imperative that global net CO2 emissions will be reduced to zero by 2050 if we are willing to limit global warming below 2°C by 2100. However, we should do everything we can to limit global warming to 1.5 °C by then.

The textile membrane not only has a very low carbon footprint compared to other building materials commonly used for roofing of sports halls, but it also eliminates the need for artificial lighting during the day due to its translucency. This reduces energy consumption over the entire lifespan of the building.

Thus, by choosing this type of construction, municipalities and clubs are opting for an environmentally friendly building that also offers athletes a maximum of comfort, because the textile membrane prevents the building from overheating and offers good acoustics and optimal lighting conditions.

In addition, SMC2 offers the possibility of equipping the building with photovoltaic modules. This makes the hall a plus-energy building that produces more electricity than it consumes!

We must act today in order to maintain the habitability of our planet for mankind in the future and to protect biological diversity. Those involved in sport have a special responsibility not to leave our children a devastated planet. Let’s act now!

SMC2, in collaboration with Flocon Architecture, designed and built the indoor tennis hall in Saint Galmier, France. This project once again illustrates our expertise in the construction of comfortable and bright sports buildings.

 

A TENNIS HALL DESIGNED FOR ATHLETES

At the request of the Saint Galmier town hall, we designed and built a 36 x 40m hall with two tennis courts. Mainly used by the town’s tennis club, this building offers optimal playing conditions for players.

For this purpose, we use a material that has become a key element of our work: the textile membrane. Present on the facades and on the roof, the stretched fabric provides complete comfort for the players. Its translucency allows the players to enjoy the natural light during the day. Julien Roux, architect at Flocon Architecture, says: “The main quality of this building is the playing area offered to users, who benefit from natural light thanks to the use of translucent fabric on the roof. In addition, the flexibility of the textile membrane limits the reverberation of sound for acoustic comfort. Its white colour prevents the accumulation of heat for thermal comfort, particularly in summer.”

Air renewal and the maintenance of a pleasant temperature all year round are also made possible by an efficient ventilation system coupled with an effective hygrothermal regulation system.

Julien Roux says: “We are satisfied with the play area offered to users. The interior space is quite successful. The structure is treated with finesse. The clay colour of the courts, the acoustics and the light allow the players to play in a very pleasant space. The feedback from the sports club is very positive.”

 

INDOOR TENNIS THAT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

The construction system used is good for the athlete but also for the planet. The framework is a combination of wood and steel. SMC2 favours wood construction for its environmental virtues thanks to the material’s ability to store CO2.

The textile membrane allows the creation of volume with minimal material and energy. Julien Roux explains: “The size of the land requires large spans, and the use of a light roofing system has made it possible to minimise the size of the structure and therefore reduce the overall costs of the project.”

Stretched fabric provides protection from the weather and has a low environmental impact during construction. Its carbon footprint is five times lower than that of steel decking, for example.

Julien Roux gives his opinion on this construction system: “It’s a successful gamble. The lightness and thinness of the structure are made possible thanks to the collaboration between the engineers and the architects. The concept is simple, ecological and very economical.”

 

SMC2 is committed to constructing sustainable sports buildings. The wood and the textile membrane allow the building to be integrated into its environment without distorting the local landscape. The 45m² textile facade is screen-printed for a unique rendering in the city’s colours.

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For the second half of 2022, come and meet us! From September to the end of November, SMC2 will be taking part in a number of exhibitions to highlight its expertise in the design and construction of eco-responsible sports and leisure facilities.

 

Exhibitions in France….

We have a busy schedule of events in the coming weeks. Our team will be travelling to the four corners of France to meet you.

Meet us at the Innopolis exhibition on 20 and 21 September 2022. Nicolas Robin, Managing Director of SMC2, will give a conference on September 20 at 4:15 pm on the theme of connected and autonomous sports equipment for territories. He will of course talk about Fit Arena.

The following week, on 27 September, we will take part in the SNELAC meetings at Disneyland Paris, to present our know-how in play architecture to the leisure and theme park sectors. Then we will go to Lyon on 30 September for the Domaines Skiables de France Congress where we will present our leisure offer adapted to 4-season tourism in the mountains.

At the beginning of October, SMC2 will be in Brest to participate in the Carrefour des Communes du Finistère. A regional meeting on 6 and 7 October 2022 during which we will be able to present our know-how in leisure and sports engineering.

Not forgetting our not-to-be-missed event: the Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales, which will be held from 22 to 24 November 2022. In pavilion 2.2, on two stands of more than 100m² in total, our French sales team will be available to answer all your questions, discuss your projects and present our expertise in the design and construction of sports and leisure structures. A corner will be dedicated to our innovation Fit Arena, the autonomous and connected multi-sports hall.

 

…but also internationally

SMC2 continues to expand worldwide. We are consolidating our subsidiaries in England and Germany, and are now expanding to the American continent, and more specifically to the United States and Canada! You can also meet our team members at trade fairs in these 3 countries.

Starting with the GaLaBau exhibition in Germany, which will be held from 14 to 17 September 2022. At this trade fair, we will be presenting a turnkey sports solution for a covered multi-sports field, in partnership with the companies Turnbar and Vindico, with whom we will be sharing a stand. We will also be at the Schulbaumesse exhibition on September 29 to 30 2022.

From October 5 to 7, 2022, our American team will be present at the Annual Conference of Municipal Recreation (CALM) to be held in St Hyacinthe, Quebec. This will be SMC2’s first participation in a Canadian show. It is an opportunity for us to present our covered sports solutions, our added value, and to let all communities know that these solutions are now available in Canada!

Finally, it has been a long time since SMC2 has been represented at a British exhibition. We are back this year with an exhibition in Manchester  from October 18 to 19 2022, followed by an exhibition in Scotland  from November, 15 to 16 2022. An opportunity to showcase our indoor sports solutions, including our sports arenas!

 

So make a note of the dates and come and meet us!

The Lambeth Conference was the catalyst for the University of Kent to embark on a project to refurbish its tennis hall.

A MORE SUSTAINABLE TENNIS HALL WITH A FOCUS ON ATHLETE COMFORT

The tennis hall originally consisted of 3 tennis courts with a tubular steel frame and flat membrane. Its rehabilitation has resulted in the construction of an indoor tennis hall with 4 courts. With its glulam structure and double textile membrane roof and facades, the new building now has a lower environmental impact.

The stretched fabric, with its translucency and flexibility, provides light and acoustic comfort to its sportsmen. The sun’s rays illuminate the fields during the day, while the sound does not reverberate off the walls. The complete ventilation system ensures air renewal according to the ambient temperature and CO2 levels, thus providing additional thermal comfort.

To find out more about this structure, we invite you to visit the Tennis – Canterbury (UK) project on our website.

A 2-IN-1 SPORTS BUILDING: TENNIS HALL AND MULTI-PURPOSE HALL

This sports hall was built to facilitate the practice of tennis but also the practice of netball, a team sport derived from basketball.

But the building also has another, non-sporting role. It is used as a multi-purpose hall to host events such as concerts and exhibitions.

Among the events is the Lambeth Conference, a ten-yearly meeting of bishops from all over the world. The 15th edition of this conference will be held in Canterbury, in the Tennis Hall. From 26 July to 8 August 2022, the Tennis Hall will bring together almost a thousand bishops and their spouses from 165 countries.

 

SMC2, as a designer and builder of turnkey sports structures, puts its know-how at the service of the construction of sports complexes.

CONSTRUCTION OF SPORTS COMPLEXES, FOR A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE

Having a sports complex in your community means being able to offer its inhabitants a variety of sports facilities within the same building.

At SMC2, we create sports complexes that include different types of spaces adapted to different sports practices:

• sports halls dedicated to dynamic sports such as team sports (football, basketball, handball, etc.) or racquet sports (badminton, tennis, padel, etc)
• sports halls dedicated to specialised sports such as martial arts, dance or gymnastics

But not only that! For a complete sports experience, we complete our sports complexes with changing rooms, sanitary facilities and/or clubhouses to offer comfort to the sportsman before, during and after his session. Grandstands can also be added for a moment of sharing between athletes and spectators.

A SPORTS COMPLEX ADAPTED FOR COMFORT AND SAVINGS

The advantage of having a sports complex is the adaptability of the different sports areas to the expectations of the sportsmen and women and to the playing conditions of each sport.

Dancing or basketball, for example, do not involve the same heating of the body and therefore do not have the same heating requirements. Having a sports complex makes it possible to meet the thermal needs of the sportsmen and women in an adapted way. The dynamic sports hall only needs to be tempered for comfortable and environmentally friendly sports. With the right clothing and thanks to the physical effort produced, the body warms up by itself. In addition, our hygrothermal regulation system allows the atmosphere to be tempered and provides thermal comfort for team and racquet sports. In the dynamic sports hall, acoustic and light comfort also awaits the athletes. Thanks to the textile membrane, present on the roof and/or on the facades, natural light illuminates the sports building during the day. However, its white colour reflects the sun’s rays, to avoid too much heat accumulation. The natural ventilation installed in our sports complexes, coupled again with our efficient hygrothermal regulation system, avoids the need for air conditioning without suffering from heat. In addition, the flexibility of the stretched fabric prevents sound reverberation.

Specialised sports halls, on the other hand, need to be at a higher temperature. As the spaces are often smaller than multi-sports gyms, heating only that room rather than the whole complex will be less energy consuming. To achieve this, the building must be perfectly insulated, which is why these spaces are generally built in CLT or timber frame, and not covered by a textile membrane.

 

A SUSTAINABLE SPORTS COMPLEX

Our sports complexes are built with a wooden framework. Wood is a noble material that allows CO2 to be absorbed, thus limiting the environmental impact of the sports structure. The combination of our mottos “Less is more” and “No CO2, Low Energy” qualifies our desire to offer sports buildings that are cleaner for the environment by limiting energy consumption during construction and operation, and therefore by limiting the use of materials to what is strictly necessary.

Better management of lighting and heating needs means making savings during operation but also doing something for the environment. It is time to commit to the preservation of our planet by opting for greener sports solutions and adopting more responsible behaviour.