Artificial Surfaces
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Small, independently sectioned areas, configured from the same materials as the main playing surface, can add real additional value
CGI study carried out for planning application © Neil Johnson, Sports Lighting Consultants Ltd
Drinks fountain, without bottle spout, attached to storage area
support vehicles will access and move around the site is imperative, so that the site is used in a safe and optimum manner to maximise the overall user experience. Incidentally, there’s a significant requirement for safe design solutions under CDM 15. There are a plethora of items to consider, including desire lines, site safety and security and usability, whereby multiple users may be using the site at any one time. The quality and type of any surface finish
will be dependent upon finances, other materials used on site and vehicle types etc. It is important that access path dimensions allow for side by side access, full turning circles and splays, if needed, and make full disabled provision. We find that shadow lighting can really help site movements in the darker winter months, and this would normally be installed from the principal access points around the site.
Training/waiting areas Weldmesh RHS sports fence
Make plenty of provision for ongoing waste management, including the dreaded chewing gum!
108 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ”
Depending upon available budgets, supplementary user and spectator facilities can be installed to enhance a facility footprint and make it more user friendly. This means that we tend not to design ‘rectangles in fields’, and consider carefully how any available space is divided up so that individuals or teams can warm up in a variety of ways before using the main facility. These small, independently sectioned areas, configured from the same materials as the main playing surface, can add real additional value. These can allow direct access onto the
area, but sit adjacent to it, meaning that multiple users can warm up/continue with match play at the same time, and can allow swift transition between areas, optimising income generation of the footprint. Spectators need to be considered equally
and adequate provision be made, normally in the form of standing areas, and possibly shelter and welfare facilities, such as toilets and drinks fountain etc. A word of warning however, we would not generally recommend surfacing a high traffic area such as a spectator area in synthetic grass. Exacerbated contamination and maintenance issues are realised, especially with a small
working area which can be narrow and difficult to maintain. Finally, make plenty of provision for ongoing waste management, including the dreaded chewing gum!
Detox/refreshment points
Cleanliness is definitely next to Godliness when it comes to sports surface maintenance. As such, a detailed consideration should be made of ongoing user, maintenance vehicle and spectator footwear to ensure that contamination, particularly of surfacing systems with voids or infill, is avoided. One technique that we regularly use is the
installation of so called ‘detox’ areas, which essentially consists of a cleaning grill and sythetic grass cover that sits within and above a concrete sump, and which can be accessed to clean out, if applicable. This would normally be supplemented by adjacent foot brushes for pedestrians, and possibly a watering point to wash down prime movers and vehicles before access to site.
We regularly ask for additional sections of
synthetic grass to be left on site for general footwear cleaning as well. A similar strategy should be adopted for other surface types, with perhaps the exclusion of the detox grill if regular vehicle access to the area is not required. This may well be the case with smaller areas, such as tennis courts. A drinks fountain or two would normally
be installed for users, with the ability to fill sports bottles, but the environment can influence this decision as they can sometimes be prone to vandalism.
Furniture and storage areas
Quality furniture can really enhance the perception of what a facility offers, and it is becoming more common for bespoke furniture to be ordered, with the organisation livery included on it. In general terms, you do get what you pay for with furniture and, as a facility provider, you must always ensure that any furniture provided meets stringent BS/EN safety standards, where applicable. We are always amazed at how common it
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