PSBJ October 2021

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LEISURE

PEOPLE-FIRST DESIGN CREATES VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF LEISURE To be able to compete and stay ahead in an ever-changing and demanding world, it is crucial that we pay close attention to the uniqueness of each community we work to serve, understand their nuances and look to gain insights into exactly what the local public want and need from the facility. Associate Director and Project Lead at GT3 Architects, Suzanne Blair, explores the pivotal role that the ‘people architecture’ principle plays in the design of successful architectural projects.

Making a splash

are highly C ommunities invested in their leisure centres and fitness clubs, and so it’s fundamental for designers to spend their time wisely, working closely with any partnerships to make decisions driven by community demands to ensure long-term success. “We use in-house models, such as Community+, to take an in-depth look at a community to understand how to meet the ever-changing demands and barriers that could prevent community members from engaging with a leisure scheme. “Our ‘people-first’ approach challenges the status quo and allows the leisure sector to better cater for a much wider range of user groups by allowing various activities to take place in a particular space. By undertaking an in-depth study of the stakeholder groups that could potentially use leisure facilities, we are able to reflect those needs in the design. This is particularly important for local authorities as they seek to position leisure centres as successful businesses, as well as community facilities. “We place people, not buildings, at the heart of our projects, working to ensure that the spaces we create are not just beautiful but that they

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deliver real, enduring value to the people who use and operate them long into the future. “Our rigorous process of listening, challenging, imagining and designing ensures our quality is consistently delivered. Our recently-completed stateof-the-art leisure centre in Hornchurch, East London – which created a multi-purpose, accessible space for the

local community – epitomises this approach. Commissioned by Havering London Borough Council, we worked alongside Everyone Active and Metnor Construction earlier this year, delivering a spectacular build, underpinned by guiding project principles that are defined thorough collaboration and an understanding of what’s important to both client and community,” explains Suzanne.

By applying thoughtful creativity and engagement that works for the community, the centre offers a flexible space, which accommodates a wide range of different leisure activities. Spanning two floors and covering more than 6000m2, the facility replaces the existing Hornchurch Sports Centre. The scheme includes an impressive, competitionstandard 25m eight-lane pool complete with 250-seat viewing gallery, wet changing village, sauna, steam room and an onsite cafe opening out onto a public plaza. A separate specialist learner and dive pool has also been installed to offer increased flexibility for the centre. A movable pool floor allows the pool depth to be changed from 0 to 3.7m, facilitating a range of activities, from baby and toddler classes through to diving lessons, aqua aerobics and group wheelchair access. GT3 Architects worked with world-leading pool expert Myrtha Pools to deliver the outstanding facilities. Both pools utilised the firm’s innovative pre-fabricated steel tank system, as opposed to a traditional concrete tank, to create the custom pools.


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