The UK’s first fully inclusive residential sport facility
RIAS National Award winner 2021
RIAS Scottish Award winner 2021
Reiach and Hall Architects for sportscotland
Contract value: £11m
GIA: 6,700m2
Cost per m2: £1,600
Modern, sustainable and flexible, this residential, learning, conference and office complex supports the client’s high-level sports and para-sports training aspirations. Used by elite athletes and local clubs, it has 60 fully adapted twin-occupancy residential rooms designed to exceed standard sizes, each with large accessible wet rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows. Set on a woodland hillside, the centre has stunning views of the Firth of Clyde and the mountains of Arran.
A primary design move was to re-route the entrance drive and add the new facilities to the front of an existing low-grade sports hall, masking that building and forming a new main facade. The sinuous strip of polycarbonate and glass appears to weave through trees, integrating the building into the site and giving the centre an iconic new identity. As athletic performance is directly affected by exposure to light, the large bedroom windows are augmented by the gentle soft light coming through the ribbon of translucent polycarbonate that binds the whole project together.
Accessibility was vital; the brief stipulated that large teams of wheelchair users should be able to move easily all around the building. This has been elegantly achieved, with an impressive attention to detail. The building is a pleasure to be in, its generously proportioned spaces filled with natural light.
See the rest of the RIAS Scottish winners here