W:
www.ie-today.co.uk
By stacking the studio spaces on top of the pool hall the pool block manages to support a wide range of activities in a very small footprint. The creation of a basement means that much of the building’s plant is removed from the main body of the plan, thus increasing the space for the core functions and keeping the overall height down. This produced a very elegant and efficient building, albeit at the expense of a substantial and complex basement. The new building footprint
stretches over the access to the existing underpass which is extended into the playground. The work to the underpass, including the concrete slab over the top, was completed during a vacation period so that it could be used by pupils whilst the construction continued overhead. Externally the expression of
ABOVE: a 25m six-lane swimming pool and fitness gym were core requirements of the project
of light to resolve: to the south the existing boathouse and prep school which would be in use throughout the construction period. Added to this, access to the site for construction vehicles was only possible from the residential street to the east. Furthermore, given the proximity to the river, it was highly likely water would be encountered during the excavations. From a planning perspective,
whilst this was replacing an existing facility, the site was in a conservation area and was within the curtilage of two listed buildings, which posed further challenges.
The design solution What, then, was the design solution? Due to the nature of the activities that take place in sports buildings, they often comprise large cubic volumes. This means that they frequently require special consideration in terms of scale and massing so that they do not appear out of context with their surroundings, particularly in urban areas. FaulknerBrowns came up with a
design solution that links the two simple geometric volumes of the sports hall and pool block with a spine of accommodation that comprises the main horizontal and vertical circulation routes.
Ian Wilson is a partner at FaulknerBrowns Architects, where he heads the schools team W:
www.faulknerbrowns.co.uk
the building is very simple and restrained with a palete of fibre- cement and glass. The primary volumes of the sports hall and pool hall are clad in grey fibre- cement panels, modulated with different shades and sizes, with the studios expressed as a cast- glass box ‘floating’ above the perimeter wall. Utilising a mixture of clear and translucent panels, the movement within the studios will present a constantly changing appearance: a living canvas that will animate the elevation by day and night through shadow and silhouete. A single-storey block along the west elevation containing changing accommodation completes the composition and helps mitigate the scale towards the houses on Weltje Road. The planning process was
complex and prolonged and involved extensive consultation with community stakeholders. The project will be unveiled in time for the new term this September. iE
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