A Multifunctional Sports Facility for Private and Public Use

Following our delivery of a full-size, floodlit 3G pitch at this high school, we have completed a feasibility design for a new sports hall, which is waiting for funding.

The pitch meets Sport England guidance and the technical performance criteria of the Football Association and Rugby Football Union and is popular with the local community. The proposed hall will further support local community sports outside of school hours, by replacing an ageing, inadequate single-court barn structure with a much larger, more flexible space. Also included is a first-floor spectator balcony, multi-purpose studio, and accessible changing.

The sport/leisure crossover into education presented us with an interesting design challenge. As both a private and public space, a school hall has unique needs in catering for multifunctional uses including sports, dining, performance, and assembly. Our technical solution carefully manages sound transmission into adjacent quiet classrooms, and we have sensitively responded to the National Forest setting through careful scaling and by proposing stone and natural timber cladding materials.