PROJECT REPORT: SPORTS & LEISURE FACILITIES 35
offers adaptable and inclusive spaces, and promotes health and wellbeing.”
People & planet
The initial brief given to GT3 Architects was for a fl exible leisure destination that would serve a diverse range of community needs. Their response integrates community spaces with wet and dry areas, “supporting the community’s current health, social and wellbeing ambitions, but also futureproofi ng for later generations, and offering the council long-term fl exibility in terms of space and additional revenue opportunities,” explains Gowdridge. GT3 are experts in the fi eld, having previously designed award-winning sport and leisure facilities – though Gowdridge stresses that doesn’t mean a ‘one size fi ts all’ mindset. “Each design is bespoke and underpinned by our ‘people architecture’ approach, placing user needs, inclusivity and community benefi t at the centre of every design decision.” The council’s desire to focus on ‘people’ was therefore a key attraction, but what
really made the project stand out was its “sheer scale and ambition,” Gowdridge says. This relates not only to its size, but the decision a little way into the project to expand the brief to align with Spelthorne Borough Council’s recent goal to be net zero by 2030. The new leisure centre was the ideal vehicle to demonstrate this, amidst a context of rising energy costs, and the decision was made at Stage 3 of the project to aim for Passivhaus certifi cation – an extremely rare target for a building of this scale and typology.
This turned the already-appealing project into a “one-of-a-kind scheme, blending state-of-the-art leisure facilities, people-centred design and cutting- edge sustainability standards,” explains Gowdridge. It presented a challenge that GT3 were more than happy to get stuck into. “We knew it offered a unique opportunity to lead the way in sustainable leisure,” he continues. “The opportunity to translate complex Passivhaus requirements into a leisure environment – only delivered once within the UK and to a smaller scale –
PASSIVHAUS EN ROUTE
The decision to raise the project goals to Passivhaus certifi cation once the programme had commenced turned it into a ‘one-of-a-kind’ scheme
ADF SEPTEMBER 2025
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