49


   


© Morgan Sindall Nigel Franks, general manager at Morgan Sindall Investments,


says: “There was an initial design by S&P architects, which we took on and developed. There were not significant changes, just those to make it work.” Charlie Norris, construction director for Morgan Sindall, says:


“Because of our involvement through the whole process over about a year we pretty much knew what we were going to build and had ironed out a lot of problems before we got to the site.” Brace notes that the whole construction project involved only


some 11 change notices, a figure he describes as ‘incredibly low’. The starting point for the design was the swimming pool,


because of a requirement that it should face north. That orienta- tion gives it consistent light all day but without direct sun, which had been an issue at the council’s old pool, as it can impede the view of lifeguards. Once the pool’s position had been fixed the rest of the village


was designed around it. It is on two floors, with the 50-metre pool, plus a smaller pool for young children, on the ground floor, together with a gymnastics hall, courts, the rock climbing walls, facilities for changing and a café. Upstairs are the fitness suites, studios for dance, yoga and aer-


obics, viewing galleries and meeting rooms. A grandstand for the athletics track is built onto the eastern side wall. Norris says construction involved pile foundations, ground


beams and a steel fame, with partition walls inside. Outside, there is mixed composite cladding, render and brick-


work, and glazed curtain walling for the swimming pool. Steel beams with purlins support the standing seam roof, which sweeps over the top of the village.


...continued on page 50 Rock climbing wall © Morgan Sindall


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