PROPERTY Ingels’ Tesla coil dream for Battersea


Bjarke Ingels has unveiled plans to turn the chimneys at Battersea Power Station into giant sparkling Tesla coils, powered by passing pedestrians. Ingels’ architectural practice, BIG,


Te centre is designed to be dementia-friendly


Work set to start on £16m Warrington leisure hub


A £16m neighbourhood hub designed to provide leisure, health and cultural ser- vices in Great Sankey, Warrington, has been given the green light by planning officials. Warrington Borough councillors unan-


imously agreed on 5 August to approve operator LiveWire’s proposal to transform the existing Great Sankey Leisure Centre into a multi-purpose community hub. Te centre will feature a range of leisure


facilities and is envisioned to provide resi- dents with a one-stop-shop for all leisure, health and wellbeing and cultural needs. A LiveWire spokesperson told Leisure


Opportunities that the contract to supply the planned 120-station gym will be put out to tender. Te site will also feature swimming pools, a sports hall, tennis courts, a 3G pitch, GP surgeries, a library, a cafe and wellbeing facilities including a spa. Construction on the first stage of the development will start later this year, with phase one opening in Q3 2016. Details: http://lei.sr?a=S6w2F_O


Council green lights two new stadiums for Truro


Separate plans to build two new stadiums in Truro have cleared a major hurdle aſter both plans were approved by Cornwall Council’s strategic planning committee. The council gave the go ahead for a


6,000-capacity ‘Stadium for Cornwall’ – providing a new home to the Cornish Pirates rugby team – and a 4,000-seat ground for National League South’s Truro City Football Club. Te developers of the Stadium for Cornwall at West Langarth can now begin a search for firms willing to take up the retail units that will help to fund the £10m ground. Cornish Pirates have been working


in partnership with property developer Inox Group on the stadium project and the club hopes to move into the new sta- dium for the 2017-18 season. Truro City meanwhile, has already secured enough funding to begin project building work. Details: http://lei.sr?a=N7X5a_O


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is designing the public square next to the iconic London building on behalf of Malaysian consortium, SP Setia, which is developing the power sta- tion site with Frank Gehry-designed flower shaped apartment blocks and luxury flats from Sir Norman Foster. Te two level Malaysia Square will


guide visitors through the landscape and create a ‘calm and elegant entry’ to the Battersea Park Station. Ingels has said he wants the square


BIG is designing a public square next to Battersea Station


to be an urban canvas for cultural expression, where landscape, architecture, urbanism and media design are in harmony. It will be conceived as an urban amphi-


theatre for public, and spontaneous, performances. Both Malaysian stone grains and reclaimed power station chimney material will be used. Ingels recently told an audience at the Royal Academy in London, that they are speaking to experts in Tesla coils to see how


these could be incorporated into the chimneys. Te square could feature a piezoelectric pave- ment that stores energy as people walk over it, which could be released as an electric arc passing between the chimneys. “We imagine it like Big Ben, when the clock


strikes the hour, we can have this celebration of human energy and human life,” said Ingels. Details: http://lei.sr?a=x3Q2V_O


New London cycling bridge proposals


Active commuting in London could get a major boost aſter a number of designs were revealed for a new £40m pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Tames between Pimlico and Nine Elms. Active design has been a


hot topic in recent months, especially in light of new research that found cit- ies which strive to promote physical activity gain a sig- nificant economic advantage. A study from cycling charity Sustrans, meanwhile, found that the UK’s National Cycle Network has saved the economy more than £7bn since it was established 20 years ago. Wandsworth Council, which is running


Te crossing is expected to offer a car-free alternative to boost activity


a design competition for the new London bridge, has unveiled proposals from the four architecture and engineering teams which have been shortlisted for the contest. One of the challenges for the teams – picked from a field of 74 entrants – is to create a bridge which is high enough for boats to pass under, but not too steep for pedestrians and cyclists to climb. Te bridge is seen as a key part of a


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


major infrastructure package that is in place to transform and regenerate the Nine Elms district, with the crossing offering a car-free alternative that would boost active commuting. “We now have some very exciting and quite


spectacular designs on the table,” said Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council. “Tere’s still a long way to go but these teams have given us hope that a solution can be found to the complex challenges involved in creating a new pedestrian and cycle link.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=R8e8x_O


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2015


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