PROJECT REPORT: SPORTS & LEISURE FACILITIES
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we want to be proud of. It’s a building that’s not to be taken too seriously, but it is an important public building.” This new addition also creates a new ‘gateway’ to the city, part of its success being in enhancing the existing riverside walk connecting it to the city centre.
External materials Justin Ashworth says leisure centres also enable designers to “have a bit of fun” and the exterior of the building has a playful expression of coloured glass to the gym, and ‘bubbles’ extending up the pool’s facade – celebrating what’s happening within. The bubbles have been laser cut in various sizes into white aluminium sheet bonded to a blue sheet behind; the architects hope the projecting roof of the colonnade will protect the bright white exterior from staining. Also from Alucobond (and supplied by cladding specialists Ash & Lacy), coloured panels cover the cantilevered sections internally and externally, their powder coatings changing from appearing blue to greens or reds depending on the light and the angle they are viewed from. “It almost changes colour with the seasons,” says Ashworth.
A further playfulness is bestowed by the vertical louvres that frame the full-height glazing to the gym on the first floor, in a sequence of blues and greens. As well as having pleasant views of trees framed by these colourful brise soleil elements, gym- goers benefit from the solar control they
provide. The east-facing elevation is fully shaded in the hottest parts of the day, enhancing what the low-G solar control glass itself is doing. As well as the ‘blue’ glass around the
pool, blue external LEDs enhance the exterior at night, making the building glow. In addition, the gym has colour changing LEDs on the interior – which “almost ripples like an octopus,” says Ashworth – adding that the building “completely changes at night.” To the west elevation are three projecting oriel windows with brightly coloured frames, continuing the language of colourful protrusions.
Structural challenges & pool Digging a pool tank next to a river on a site with difficult ground conditions “presented unknowns at the beginning of the project,” says Ashworth. “We worked with main contractor Kier and the piling contractor to develop the design for a contiguously piled structure around all of the pool and basement areas.” This worked well, with minimal dewatering of the site being required during the works.
However there was also the issue of an adjacent sewer to contend with – the main sewer serving the whole of north Chelmsford. The building needed to be moved slightly further back from the river, and there were early delays because of other groundwork risks that needed to be addressed.
The pool is constructed of reinforced ADF APRIL/MAY 2020
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WORKING OUT IN COLOUR
Coloured vertical louvres frame the full-height glazing to the gym on the first floor
The riverside frontage to the gym, curved to follow the bend of the river, extends over the cafe to provide a protected terrace
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