Faulkner Browns

Derby Arena Derby Arena is a landmark venue that inspires participation in cycling, whilst encouraging people of all ages and abilities to take part in a diverse range of leisure activities and events. It forms part of Derby City Council’s ambitious leisure strategy to encourage active lifestyles and to increase participation in sport. Our design is founded on the principles of flexibility and inclusivity. The multi-purpose arena accommodates a 250m cycling track, 12 court sports hall, fitness centre, as well as event space capable of supporting a year round calendar of entertainment. As well as setting new standards for leisure facility design, the Arena’s flexible programme is bringing a wide range of visitors to the city.

Hamdan Sports Complex Hamdan Sports Complex is a purpose built aquatics centre in Dubai, constructed to host the 2010 FINA World Swimming Championships and a subsequent array of other international swimming and diving events. The complex contains two separate 50m pools with movable booms and floors, as well as two independent sets of diving platforms, providing the flexibility to cater for competition, elite training and everyday use. We worked closely with the project engineers to design a system where the pool tank in the main arena can be drained to enable it to be covered and used for a variety of other purposes. The 15,000 seat arena is then transformed into a spectator event space capable of hosting international sports events, concerts and exhibitions.

Beacon Of Light The first of its kind in the UK, Beacon of Light is a unique sport and education centre for the Foundation of Light, designed to engage and inspire a diverse range of people—including traditionally ‘hard to reach’ individuals within the local community. Located next to Stadium of Light, the home of Sunderland AFC, Beacon of Light provides a vibrant and feel-good environment where people can meet socially; where they can learn and take part in courses to gain skills and qualifications; and where their fascination and love of football will start them on a journey to improve their quality of life. Through its work at Beacon of Light it is predicted that the Foundation will generate up to £73m worth of social return-on-investment over a period of twenty years.

Latymer Upper School Sports Centre The sports centre at Latymer Upper School, a 1,200 pupil independent school in Hammersmith, West London, is designed to maximise the useable space on a tightly constrained, but highly visible site. The building comprises a six lane 25m pool, spectator seating, fitness suite, three multi-purpose studios and the refurbishment of an existing sports hall. The primary volumes of the sports hall and swimming pool are clad in grey fibre–cement panels, modulated with different shades and sizes. The studio space is expressed as a cast-glass box ‘floating’ above the perimeter wall. Utilising a mixture of clear and translucent panels, the movement within the studios presents a constantly changing appearance: a living canvas which, through shadow and silhouette, animates the elevation by day and night.

Specialist Workspaces The workplace is split into two distinctive areas, providing working environments with unique spatial qualities to support the requirements of different departments. The northern block comprises cellular spaces, specialist workplaces and breakout areas which require a high level of control over access, lighting, privacy and acoustics. In contrast, the southern workspace is an interactive workplace offering a more open, fluid and transient environment to support creative processes. These two areas are joined together by a fifty two metre long, two storey, glazed atrium, offering a series of engaging and interactive breakout spaces and enhanced amenities.