The Berry Sport and Recreation Centre’s sports hall took on huge projects including a $200 million Wimbledon Centre Court redevelopment, and a new $90 million training facility for the New York Jets, in the sports facilities category at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. Yet the $1.3 million Berry Sports Hall won the day against these much larger projects. Speaking from Barcelona on Friday just hours after the award was presented, Berry project director Michael Heenan said he was surprised by the victory, especially given the quality of opposition.

The awards attracted more than 800 entries from 60 different countries, and in the sporting category six projects were short-listed for the architects to make presentations to a judging panel. Mr Heenan, from Sydney architectural firm Allen Jack Cottier, said “my stomach was getting more and more tight” as he listened to the other presentations. Despite the finalists containing a number of large and spectacular projects, the judges decided the Berry sports hall was the outstanding winner.

The judges praised the way the project not only met all the complex needs for a modern multi-use sports hall, but then went beyond expectations to help the hall fit in with nature and even the region’s indigenous traditions.

That included using thermodynamic modelling and natural insulation, along with natural light through hundreds of tiny windows, giving light like an art gallery.

The lavish praise was reflected by Mr Heenan, who described the Sport and Recreation complex as “a fantastic resource”.