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PROJECT REPORT: SPORTS & LEISURE FACILITIES
CRUSHED
The building is clad in crushed aluminium to combat the coastal climate, in a triangular pattern All images © Hufton+Crow
decision by the project team to bring users into the heart of the community, instead of marginalising them.
Approaching the building on foot, with busy thoroughfares on either side of it, the striking parallelogram of F51 appears as a fairly massive form. The volume, relatively compact at its glazed ground level, is clad in crushed aluminium in a triangular pattern above, specified to weather the harsh coastal air. It is 6 metres wider by the time it reaches the top storey. Even from outside, its function is clearly expressed, the concrete bowls of the first floor protruding out from the facade, and glazing providing glimpses inside. Also giving a signal to its use, the black painted ground floor is covered in graffiti from renowned artist Mr Doodle, who included various allusions to the building’s functions – as well as a reference to Roger de Haan. My attention was also drawn to a drawing celebrating a particular ‘rad dad’ – a member of a parents skating class who visited the project as it was finishing.
Reception
Heading inside through glass doors, visitors are first presented with a reception area
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and cafe, surrounded by a wall clad in skateboards of varying designs, which are available to buy.
As part of a commission to paint artwork around the skate parks themselves, almost every contributor whose art wasn’t included on the building itself were given one or more boards to design – and they would receive a portion of the proceeds. Looking up, you see the undisguised forms of the colossal concrete bowls, suspended directly above your head. Even from below, their scale is impressive – obvious not just in the depth to which they extend from the ceiling, but in the massive concrete columns holding them, and the further floors, up.
Next door to the reception are a range of supporting facilities such as storage, bathrooms and changing rooms (also located on upper levels), as well as stairs and elevators up, and doors that open to a space dedicated to boxing, which is a popular pastime in Folkestone. Inside this space is a full size boxing ring and an adjacent training room; the connecting sliding doors in between opening up to create one large entertainment space. This means that it can offer not just boxing
ADF JUNE 2022
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