Gurnell Leisure Centre, Ealing Redevelopment proposals Prepared for LB Ealing_December 2014
Killer image Gurnell Leisure Centre 2018
Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals State of the art community leisure facility Below: images of the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome; a project designed primarily as a community sports facility A world class community leisure facility offering access and opportunity for amateurs and professionals alike. We see a fantastic opportunity to redevelop the existing, tired and dated facilities at Gurnell with a state-of-theart Olympic quality swimming pool to rival the facility in East London at Stratford, building on the incredible legacy of the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. An enhanced new facility will cater for amateurs and professionals alike and will not only support the residents of Ealing, but also a much wider catchment across West London and the Home Counties. The current site occupies a unique position, providing good travel connections and excellent green spaces for sporting and leisure pursuits, but within the fringes of the city. The scale and beauty of the location encourages a wide range of activities inside and outside, providing facilities for a broad and diverse local population. The open spaces and greenery around the site also open themselves up as terrific playgrounds and recreation facilities for a new community of residents and provides the backdrop for a bustling new leisure destination with the new leisure centre at its heart. The spaces and the activities that they encourage will enhance the visitors experience and reinforce wider community participation. The proposed new Gurnell Leisure Centre will be at the centre of the community, with the state of the art building framed by residences and connected to new and exciting public spaces. The environment and sustainable building systems will be at the forefront of the design solution and the schematic plans and images are an illustration of what might be possible. We believe that the best design and the realisation of the new leisure centre will result from collaboration between all stakeholders and we look forward to working with the team in Ealing to realise your ambitions. 4
Swimming is unique. No other sport or past-time is accessible to so many people, regardless of age or ability. It is a true community activity. Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals A new Olympic standard pool - realising the London Games legacy Including Gurnell Leisure Centre, London has only four 50 metre indoor swimming pools, and only one of these is Olympic standard. Gurnell Stratford Hillingdon Crystal Palace 5
Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals The centre today is a tired and dilapidated building, of its time Gurnell Leisure Centre today and no longer fit-for-purpose, limiting the opportunity for future generations. Built in 1981 the existing facility is outdated and in need of extensive refurbishment to make it fit-for-purpose. The maintenance and extensive upkeep of the facility is expensive and means it currently runs at a loss and cannot offer visitors the quality of experience they demand. The site does not connect well with it s surrounding spaces to create a holistic sports and leisure destination, instead turning its back on the parkland and creating a visual and physical barrier to it. The appeal of the sports centre building is poor, providing an unwelcoming elevation, with poor accessibility, exacerbated by the swathe of surface car parking that further inhibits access to the parkland beyond. There is little permeability through the site and the wider playing fields are not used to their full potential. The steps are a barrier to access... The external appearance is uninviting... Although recognised as a successful leisure centre in the past it would seem that the building and its environment are no longer fit for purpose and require significant investment to ensure that the public are served with an appropriate facility. Currently the Gurnell Leisure Centre is only used by locals and not seen as a leisure destination. The Gurnell site can offer far more than currently exists. We would like to help to change that. The surface car parking is a poor use of external space... 6
An exemplar leisure facility at Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals the heart of a new community, Our vision for the future this highly sustainable building sits comfortably within its landscape, providing a cataylst for community cohesion and engagement. Our ambition is to put the leisure centre at Gurnell at the heart of a new leisure and residential community, providing an exemplar facility that rivals Stratford for its swimming pool, provides a wide range of internal and external sports spaces and reconnects the surrounding community with the parkland to the North. By consolidating the footprint of the leisure centre through well considered planning, the design creates significant additional space to build much needed new homes for young professionals and young families that complement the sports centre through providing additional active uses; cafes, a community centre and a nursery. There is an opportunity to provide vibrant new public spaces between the residential buildings, conceived as new London squares, extending the parkland to the street edge, improving the accessibility and experience of the Metropolitan Open Land. The new sports centre will integrate better with the surrounding external pursuits, whilst not only retaining, but increasing the number of dedicated parking spaces, all of which will be provided at basement level. A ground-breaking and sustainable design, by the architects of the Commonwealth Games Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow will provide an identifiable landmark for the London Borough of Ealing. Landscape architects will sculpt the hard and soft landscaping to draw visitors in through the site and make the most of the new public spaces. We believe that Gurnell deserves to be regarded as one of the best sports and leisure destinations in London and the UK, and as a home to future gold medal winners: we propose to deliver a design that will achieve this. 7
Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals An enhanced community leisure destination for The leisure centre London which would be a real manifestation of the Olympic Games legacy. The new leisure centre will be state of the art, looking to the standard of venues delivered for the 2012 Olympic Ground and Paralympic Games and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Although designed for a much wider population with different capabilities, the Gurnell facilities will be of Leisure pool Fitness no lesser quality. 50 m pool The schematic plans shown here seek to deliver a legible arrangement of leisure activities with simple Changing circulation and an efficient use of space, ensuring safety and security for customers and staff alike. Glazed Entrance Multi-sport elevations to the north and south maximise daylight and views into the spaces without compromising the activities. The outline schedule of accommodation is as follows: Competition and training pool 50 m x 8 lanes Teaching pool 16 m x 12 m with moveable floor Fun splash water space Wet side main changing Wet side group changing Main gym 100 stations Female only gym 40-60 stations Main studio 30 person Secondary studio 18-20 person Sports hall 4-6 court multi-sport hall Dry side changing Soft play area Permanent activity area for under 8s Spectator Seating 300 person Roof has sufficient depth for planted landscape Café Meeting space Office and support areas 45-70 covers 16-20 person meeting space 50 m pool Mezzanine (fitness) Changing Parking Multi-sport 10
Gurnell Leisure Centre_Redevelopment Proposals 3DReid is an award winning architectural practice, highly experienced in designing both residential developments and sporting facilities. They designed and delivered the Emirates Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which acted as the main venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as a number of football stadia and other community focused sports and leisure facilities including local leisure centres, sports clubs and swimming pools as part of hotel developments. The practice is also experienced in the design of residential developments working on a range of private sale and new PRS developments across London. 15
www.3dreid.com