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quality of life of people who have to move around buildings – if you are doing a large masterplan, the space between the buildings can become more impor- tant than the buildings themselves.


Where do you get your inspiration from? When I visit beautiful places, I try and understand what makes those places successful. I’ve travelled lots and been to see buildings by some of the great mod- ern architects of all time, which have inspired me. I’m also driven by the idea that the wheel needs to be reinvented every now and again. I’m very interested in how new technologies and practical innovation can improve the performance of buildings. Architecture should evolve to reflect this innovation. Generally, the construction industry


is very conservative and slow to change. The majority of homes built in Britain today use technology we inherited from the Romans 2,000 years ago. Technol- ogy in house building has moved on very little since, yet changes that have taken place in every other walk of life have been huge. Sometimes you have to recognise there are better ways of doing things and embrace change.


Issue 1 2013 © cybertrek 2013


n Double glazing was added, improving the energy efficiency of the centre


How did you get involved with the Golden Lane Leisure Centre? We were already working for the City of London Corporation [the municipal governing body of the City of London] on the Middlesex Street residential es- tate – doing some refurbishment work and new proposals, including build- ing a public library. We were invited to tender for the refurbishment of the Golden Lane Leisure Centre off the back of the success of that project.


Why did it need so much work? It had been around for a long time and all buildings need to be refurbished af- ter 30 or 40 years of use. It needed a lot of upgrading to the fabric of the build- ing, because of the running costs. It was all single-glazed, and very thermally inefficient. Also the City of London Cor- poration wanted to breathe new life into the existing complex.


What did the refurbishment project consist of? We refurbished the existing swimming pool, sports hall and changing rooms


and added in a new gym and dance studio. We also created a more spacious reception area, and improved the cir- culation throughout the building. The place feels like a high quality leisure development now, rather than the very dowdy, down-at-heel, grubby place that it was before. It’s been transformed. In order to make the buildings more


thermally efficient, we introduced dou- ble glazing to the swimming pool hall, badminton courts and other big spaces. This reduces energy loss and significant- ly lowers heating bills. Because it’s a Grade II listed building,


we had to undertake all the changes in a very sympathetic way. It took a lot of care to find manufacturers of glaz- ing systems where the mullions [metal frames] were very similar in dimension to the old steel frames, for example. A lot of attention went into the detailing and selection of materials and getting approvals from the authorities with re- gard to the listed building consent. We also improved the overall qual-


ity of the building, with high quality colours and finishes, and have put in low energy lighting, which will contribute to its low energy performance and cost savings going forward.


Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 29


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