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F51 FOLKESTONE
Riding high F
51 is a multi-storey, state-of-the-art sporting facility in Folkestone, Kent. As well as three floors of skate park, the unique building offers a boxing facility, cafe, and competition-grade climbing wall that reaches up and around all of these spaces. It is claimed by its project team to have not only the world’s first suspended concrete bowls for skateboarding, but also to be the first multi-storey skate park. The project was originally intended to be a car park, but the project’s main benefactor, philanthropist Sir Roger De Haan, worked with Kent and London-based architects Hollaway Studio to transform the scheme into what it is today. Floor by floor, the space allocated to ‘skateable’ areas gradually increased, until the project stakeholders collectively agreed that the entire building should be devoted to a variety of community facilities. Hollaway Studio have an office in the neighbouring town of Hythe, and the scheme was built by contractors Jenner, who were founded in Folkestone. The building was a passion project for its multiple local contributors, and Roger De Haan, son of the late Sidney De Haan, founder of the Saga Group. Roger’s goal was to give something back to the area, it having brought his family such success. Now complete, F51 is a strong and slightly conical form, increasing in width as it ascends skywards, providing the town with a dramatic focal point that both maximises its usable space, and creates an unmistakable and unique landmark for the area.
As a result, the project has quickly become popular, not just among the locals
A world-class multi-storey skate park has been constructed in Folkestone, Kent, a novel concrete form also designed to attract climbers and boxers, and which has quickly become a popular local landmark. Jack Wooler reports
(with children in school in Folkestone having a subsidised entry fee of £1 a month), but for pro skaters and visitors alike who come from across the world to visit the facility. There has also been wide media attention from those inside and out the sport.
F51 is a testament to the passion of all its contributors, including a varied number of creators that provided artwork and expertise to create a space that closely meets the needs of its different users.
Approach Walking to F51 from the seafront, De Haan’s work to regenerate the area is everywhere. They range from the beachfront itself, on which a major residential redevelopment of the area – also by Jenner – is well underway, to the vibrantly coloured commercial spaces linking to the town centre. The latter – also owned by De Haan – are rented out at subsidised rates to encourage cultural endeavours in the area. According to the locals, the area has changed to be almost unrecognisable over the last 10 years, in no small part due to Sir Roger’s influence. And his regeneration projects have helped add a sense of safety, as well as of prosperity, to the area. To a new visitor, this is strongly evident as you pass through the welcoming and rejuvenated streets towards the town centre. The feeling extends all the way to F51
itself. In contrast to most skate parks, which tend to be located on the outskirts of residential areas (and as a consequence, because they are not managed, can become territorial), it is located right in the centre of the town. That was the result of a clear
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