Saunders’ proposals for a contemporary sports building and 3G football
pitch for North Hertfordshire College have received a resolution to grant planning permission.
The proposed modern facilities sit within an existing further education college site and form part of a mixed use application which also includes a residential development by CALA Homes which will help
fund the development of the new sports facilities.
The existing facilities are in need of modernisation and the new scheme will bring sports facilities at the college into the twenty-first century, with a new sports hall, reception, gym and changing rooms. The buildings will connect with the existing college campus and will be accessed via landscaped areas of public realm.
The building is made up of a series of three dark and dramatic interconnecting boxes, decreasing in
scale. The largest is the sports hall clad in ribbed matt black with vertical bands of varied widths over a plinth of robust dark brick. The medium size box provides changing and shower facilities with direct access to the 3 G pitch and the hall. Also clad in black but with a different vertical cladding to the main hall. The smallest ‘box’, contains the gym and obscured activity can be seen on arrival through a full height translucent screen. The entrance is marked with elements in vibrant pink which continue inside the building. At night, the gym will have a ‘jewel like’ glow and it sits below the entrance canopy.
Saunders approved designs meet the requirements of the college curriculum and will also serve the wider community out of college hours.
Annabel Lait of Saunders said,
“Sports halls are inherently black boxes and Sport England guidelines prohibit the inclusion of windows. At North Herts College we have worked with the ‘black box idea’, enjoying the huge elevations which have been treated with a dark matt finish, in a variety of rhythms to design a practical and engaging space.”
Prior to planning submission there has been close liaison with the college, cost consultants, planning consultants and sports consultants to develop an acceptable scheme which is affordable and meets the requirements of Sport England.
Work is due to start on site in 2021.