32 PROJECT REPORT: SPORTS & LEISURE FACILITIES
COLONNADE
The colonnade gives the centre “added presence, which is important for a civic building,” says the project architect
at night, and a million people a year will go through it; it’s getting close to airports and hospitals in terms of the robustness we need to achieve.”
“I put leisure centres in the bracket of proper civic architecture” Justin Ashworth, Pick Everard
Brief & form The council wanted a “public-facing, inclusive design” that would also contribute to the wider riverside development in the town, including the major Bond Street retail and leisure development. “It’s all part of a riverside quarter that the council has had a long-term ambition to redevelop,” Ashworth explains, praising the planning department’s work.
The new build accommodation includes a
10-lane ‘competition’ pool (wider than the standard eight lanes due to the demand resulting from being the only pool in the city), plus a splash play pool, flume, and learner pool. There’s also a crèche and soft play, and cafe. On the first floor is a 150- station gym, and a studio dedicated to spin classes, plus two multi-purpose studios. The scheme’s design responds to its forbears on the site, says Justin Ashworth. “We looked at the retained ice rink – it’s built on columns with parking at ground floor level. So we made the ground floor of the new build elements as transparent as possible, with solid forms at first floor.” This helps explain the strip of glazing running around the building’s perimeter at ground floor level, which includes a blue film around the pool helping control glare, and giving a “clean feel.” The interlayer
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used in the glazing – which also helps connect the building with its surroundings – adds user comfort, warming up in sunlight to prevent cold internal downdrafts. As part of increasing participation in the
centre, the council “wanted the cafe to be public-facing,” says Ashworth, whereas in the previous building the cafe was for centre users only. “This is much more a cafe by the river, with a leisure centre behind it, if you don’t want to come and use the leisure centre, you can still get a coffee on your way to work.”
The riverside frontage to the gym, curved to follow the bend of the river, extends over the cafe to provide a protected external terrace. Further cantilevered forms at first floor house the skate hire for the existing ice rink, and the spin studio; these also signal the two entrances to the building which are directly below them. Further protecting users walking around the facility, a colonnade runs around the building with columns to both the front and side elevations, echoing the pre-existing sports centre. As Ashworth says, the colonnade “gives the building added presence – this is important for a civic building and also softens the transition between the building, terrace and riverside walk.” The architect says that he believes leisure centres deserve to be considered alongside theatres, galleries and churches when it comes to their standing as public buildings. “I put them in the bracket of proper civic architecture that
ADF APRIL/MAY 2020
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