This sports hall is lit up like an 8-bit video game thanks to its innovative design, using glass, aluminium and LEDs to eliminate multi-court confusion.
Squash already uses glass floors for portable competition courts which, by using a special treatment the surface, have very low light reflection values and more elasticity than most wooden floors, while the coloured LEDs allow changeable court patterns to be projected through them for up to five different sports to be played.
Designed by German firm ASB Glass, the friction on the surface is controlled by burnt-in ceramic dots to ensure a ball responds the same as on a traditional indoor wooden floor.
The quantity and size of these dots has been adjusted to meet the friction values of traditional sports floors. The surface created provides the right anti-slip protection but will not hurt when players dive for a ball.
A specially designed aluminium double beam sub-structure forms the base of the floor, before lighting is added and the special glass finish.
By using such a method, there is the potential to include sensor technology that could help decide on important on-court decisions. Ideal for those of us that are too busy wheezing to the point of collapse to argue a call.
