leisure centres
Responding to change
The design team acknowledged the
The sensitive refurbishment of a Grade II listed leisure centre reflects changing patterns of use and reduces running costs.
GOLDEN Lane Sport and Fitness is home to the only public pool in the Square Mile. Closed for a year, the centre has reopened after a refurbishment project designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects for the City of London Corporation Originally designed by Chamberlin
Powell and Bon in 1963, a key aim of the refurbishment was to provide a wide range of fitness options to encourage greater use of the centre, generating greater income and modernising it to serve the community for the future. The design refurbishes the 20m swimming pool, badminton court and changing rooms, inserts a new 38 station gym and dance studio and creates a fully accessible reception area and circulation routes. The contractor was Quinn London and registered charity Fusion Lifestyle will manage the centre.
importance of maintaining the character of the original Grade II listed building while delivering a project that performs to changing patterns of use and meets modern standards for access, health and safety and environmental performance. Non-original and inappropriate elements were stripped away to reveal as much of the existing building as possible. For example, the transparency of the swimming pool enclosure was reinstated and the distinctive concrete vaults of the club rooms have been retained. The new entrance is more inviting, more
generous in space and unlike the previous design, provides access to all areas of the building with a reception desk that faces guests as they arrive. The gym has been inserted into the vaulted club rooms and is now accessible from the reception area via a new circulation route. This new layout retains the existing pavement lights using them to provide natural daylight into what were secluded areas hidden in damp and unattractive storage spaces. This also improves energy efficiency by using natural light in key circulation areas to reduce the cost and energy consumed. Any new interventions have been defined
from the existing building and designed to express the best features of the original
design and not compete with them. The new dance studio has been
created between the pool and the sports hall. This is enclosed by fully glazed walls that allow for maximum transparency to reduce the visual impact on the existing building structure. A new area gives members good quality facilities close to the gym with a rationalised layout that avoids the ‘crossing‘ of people entering the pool area and entering the changing rooms. The staff room with improved storage facilities is conveniently located close to the reception area. The existing building was thermally inefficient so the works sought to produce a façade that provides a greater degree of insulation, reducing energy loss and heating bills. The largely glazed façade of the pool and badminton court raised the challenge of improving the performance of the building fabric while maintaining the transparency and external appearance as much as possible. The solution was to recreate the original glazing with a modern double glazed alternative. Colours and details were matched to provide a high performance envelope virtually identical to the original.
www.cartwrightpickard.com www.fusion-lifestyle.com
leisuredab.co.uk 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84