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The popular leisure centre, Rushcliffe Arena in Nottingham, underwent a huge transformation over the last couple of years. Designed by Architects McAdam Design from Belfast, the plans envisaged a brand new, state-of-the-art leisure facility and that is exactly what was achieved in early 2017.
The contemporary new facility brings together Rushcliffe Arena and boasts a 25-metre main pool, a learner pool with beach, six-lane bowling arena, sports hall and squash courts. In addition to this it also provides a large fitness equipment suite, two aerobics studios, a group cycling studio, a sauna / steam room, and an all-purpose activity space. The redevelopment has also provided the Council with new, more suitable offices on the Arena site.
The main contractor for the project was Farrans Construction Belfast, who joined forces with McAdam Design and Hydrospec consultants to bring the project to life. KCC Architectural were subcontracted by Farrans Construction to provide a high quality access control solution that would comply with all quality standards and regulations. KCC's Tony Campbell worked on the project and said: "Based on our analysis of the project drawings, we recommended high performance doorsets, architectural ironmongery, electronic locking systems, door access control and both interior and exterior door automation including the buildings main entrance and automated turnstile systems."
KCC were selected due to their extensive experience in similar projects, and their ability to bring together solutions to several aspects of a project such as this, thanks to their diverse product range. "We elected to use the Geze SCR curved automatic slider for the main entrance, and high-performance hardwood doorsets internally from our UK Doorset partner, IDSL," said Tony. This partnership enables KCC to provide an integrated solution for projects such as this. The doorsets used in the facility came pre-hung with all ironmongery requirements. The ironmongery locking strategy was designed and prepared at factory stage. However, to facilitate transport and packing, the actual handles and levers were hung on site for ease of packing.
Every project has it's challenges and this one was no different. "Essentially there were two clients to cater for, as the development was designed to merge City Council offices on one side, with a leisure facility that would include a pool on the other," mentioned Tony. This meant KCC had to design a solution that would meet the requirements of both clients, in terms of design, function and finish. For example, on the Leisure Centre side of the project, KCC ensured that the doors specified and installed were fully wrapped PVC doors to withstand the damp conditions associated with a pool environment. They also used premium grade 316 stainless steel ironmongery as the most durable solution for a swimming pool environment. On the other side of the project, KCC used high quality oak-finished timber doorsets to suit the City Council office requirements.
As a public building, there was also a requirement for access control and security systems to be designed and implemented. KCC designed a networked proximity door access system into the early stages of the build and came up against the challenge of controlling the flow of staff and visitors, with authorised and non-authorised access. KCC also had to take into consideration the need for the door access system to work with the intended door and ironmongery package. All elements used had been carefully selected to meet all fire, escape and safety requirements and regulations. The access strategy was continued into the leisure and council public access points via a turnstile system, with KCC partnering up with ITAB.
Overall KCC endeavoured to complete the project on time, on budget and to a high standard, meeting all relevant regulatory requirements. The project became a topic of interest and anticipation during the build as the locals looked forward to new and improved leisure facilities. The centre officially opened in January 2017.
