4 minute read
New opening
RAVELIN
The long-awaited Ravelin Sports Centre in Portsmouth opened in September. Built at a cost of £57m, the venue is one of the UK’s most sustainable venues of its kind
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NEW OPENING
Following a number of delays and disruptions, mainly related to COVID-19, the Ravelin Sports Centre has finally opened its doors. Owned and operated by the University of Portsmouth, the £57m centre took more than three years to build and is heralded as one of the UK’s most sustainable sports venues.
Sustainability at its heart
After first revealing plans for the Ravelin centre in 2018, the University of Portsmouth appointed Wates Construction as the main contractor for Ravelin in 2019. The centre was originally slated for an early 2021 opening, but the pandemic put an end to those plans, causing more than a year-long delay to proceedings.
From the start, plans for the building – designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects – set new standards for sustainability and energy efficiency in indoor leisure facilities. As a result, the centre features a number of innovative solutions. These include the installation of roof solar panels and internal heat recovery systems to create renewable energy, which is then used in the running of the building.
The pool water will also be used for toilet flushing, while wastewater drainage is cleverly managed and used to create an urban managed and used to create an urban orchard outside the building. The swimming pool will be naturally lit, with natural ventilation used where possible to minimise energy usage. The centre also features a biodiverse grassed roof with beehives.
As a result of the investment in environmentally friendly solutions, Ravelin has become the first sport and leisure centre in the UK with a swimming pool to be awarded with a BREEAM Outstanding mark.
As well as the impressive main building, the project involved improvements to the adjacent Ravelin Park. These include a new entrance plaza between the sports
The venue is owned and operated by the University of Portsmouth
building and the university library, new pedestrian routes, increasing the number of trees in the park, the urban orchard and the opening up of views to the historic buildings on Museum Road.
The project represents the first major phase of the University’s estate development masterplan, which aims to reshape its city centre campus to enhance the student experience and strengthen connections with the rest of the city.
Facilities for all
The facility opened to students and staff in September, followed by an official opening to the general public in October. Located on the corner of Ravelin Park at an important juncture between the University campus and the city centre, the facility presents an opportunity to create a welcoming gateway into the university quarter and establish a public facing presence in the city centre. The site strategy has been developed to grasp this opportunity while responding to the park and surrounding context.
Facilities inside the 11,009sq m centre include a health club with a 175 station gym kitted with Technogym equipment, multi-purpose fitness class studios and an eight-court sports hall. The studios will offer gym users a selection of the
The centre is the first with a pool to achieve the BREEAM Outstanding mark
The gym has been kitted out with Technogym equipment
The 175-station health club will provide members with a modern setting to exercise
popular Les Mills group classes.
There is also an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, squash courts and a climbing wall. The design of the pool area means that swimmers will have views from the pool of the natural green spaces outside, creating the feeling of open-air swimming in the park.
One of Ravelin’s quirkiest offerings is a £100,000 ski simulator, allowing users to practice their skiing and snowboarding skills all-year round.
Professor Graham Galbraith CBE, Portsmouth University’s vice-chancellor, says: “This is a landmark building for the University and for the City of Portsmouth and will provide an amazing experience for everyone who uses it.
“Ravelin is a truly exceptional sports centre with first class high quality facilities, designed and constructed to the highest specifications of sustainability. It’s tremendously exciting that we can now look forward to our students and community enjoying one of the best sports facilities in the UK.” ●
Ravelin Sports Centre
Architect: FaulknerBrowns
Facilities:
● Eight-lane 25m swimming pool ● 175 station fitness suite ● Multi-purpose studios delivering Les Mills classes ● Ski simulator ● Climbing wall and bouldering ● Eight-court sports hall ● Squash courts ● Teaching spaces ● Café ● Community orchard and wildflower amphitheatre ● Underground car park
© UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
