Top takeaways for improving design and delivery
Harvesting the learnings from our leisure sector delivery is key to continuously improving the buildings we deliver, and in turn the customer and user experiences.
The next ten points are just a snapshot of some of the learnings our teams have fed back into new projects, and provide a small flavour of the sorts of considerations we would be making at the start of any leisure project.
Consider where it is possible to design in sustainability first – glazing for solar gain and control, renewable technologies and low carbon materials where possible. Leisure facilities are energy hungry and the energy strategy to meet BREEAM or other environmental targets needs to be considered at an early stage to ensure correct plant selection is made, and also for the incorporation of any renewable sources that may be required.
Our teams have employed water proofing specialists early in design (both for water bar and concrete additives) to detail and approve each pool and other water retaining structure on the project. Lift pits have been used as trial ‘mini-pools’ to test and validate design of the main pool. Monitoring points act as quality checks for all structural items which includes monitoring differential movement between slabs to ensure they are correctly connected.
The diverse needs of different pool user groups are incorporated into the design to ensure privacy is maintained to ensure the use of the pool is as inclusive as possible. This also fits in the overall ethos of understanding the customers equipment layout and working backwards to engineer the best and most inclusive design of spaces.
Early engagement with sport governing bodies such as Sport England is essential when configuring sports facilities, particularly multi-use areas such as sports halls and activity spaces.
Consider the weight drop element in gyms and whether the proposed floor construction can tolerate this. Ensuring that these loads can be accommodated by the floor make up is vital. Multi- storey leisure facilities will require a vibration analysis to prevent activities in one area of the building affecting the use of other areas. This means that structural elements are often selected based on their stiffness as well as load and deflection criteria.
Defining the corrosive resistance and type of intumescent paint early is critical, as well as considering whether it will be applied offsite and how long it will be exposed to the weather before the building is watertight. Seaside leisure centres require a deeper and detailed plan of action to meet corrosion resistance challenges.
It goes without saying that engaging with specialists for Leisure is absolutely critical – from Sport England requirements on pool tolerances, to ensuring overarching responsibility for interconnected elements, are just some of the key areas in making sure the highest quality is delivered.
Adequate ventilation which is supplied in the correct places is key to controlling humidity and possible corrosion problems, especially in pool halls and other wet areas. It is important to understand the environmental lines between the pool warm air and other leisure centre areas in order to overcome any condensation challenges.
Large open spaces such as sports and pool halls will require a specific sequence of build, which in some instances (particularly multi- storey or ‘stacked’ facilities) can require a large amount of temporary bracing to ensure the building remains within dimensional tolerances during the construction period. Experience of delivering this is vital. It is also important to understand the clients equipment layout and work backwards to the design.
Large spaces mean large structural materials arriving on site. Early involvement of experienced teams will bring benefits in materials handling that are built into the design of structural components from day one.
