SportPark Pavilion 4
- Status
- Complete April 2023
- Client
- Loughborough University
- Value
- £9m
- Procurement Method
- Design and Build
- Services
- Lead Designer and Architect from Conception to Completion
- Scale
- 2000m²
Awards
- Winner - East Midlands Brick Awards, Commercial Development of the Year 2023
- Winner - Green Apple Environment Awards 2023, Environmental Best Practice, Silver Award for Carbon Reduction, Building & Construction in Sustainable Development 2023
- Finalist - East Midlands Property Dinner Awards, Sustainability 2023
- Finalist - Leicester ProCon Awards 2023
- Finalist - CEF (Construction Employer’s Federation) Awards (in NI), GB & RoI General Construction Project of the Year Award above £2.5m 2023
SportPark was launched by Loughborough University with support from government, Sport England, Charnwood Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council. It is the current home for the national governing bodies of many sports, offering an innovative office environment enabling the tenants to share information and produce innovative approaches to best practice.
- Status
- Complete April 2023
- Client
- Loughborough University
- Value
- £9m
- Procurement Method
- Design and Build
- Services
- Lead Designer and Architect from Conception to Completion
- Scale
- 2000m²
Awards
- Winner - East Midlands Brick Awards, Commercial Development of the Year 2023
- Winner - Green Apple Environment Awards 2023, Environmental Best Practice, Silver Award for Carbon Reduction, Building & Construction in Sustainable Development 2023
- Finalist - East Midlands Property Dinner Awards, Sustainability 2023
- Finalist - Leicester ProCon Awards 2023
- Finalist - CEF (Construction Employer’s Federation) Awards (in NI), GB & RoI General Construction Project of the Year Award above £2.5m 2023
DMA has a strong connection with Loughborough University, having worked on a Masterplan for Loughborough University which included the design and construction of Phase 1 of SportPark, a series of three connected pavilions with up to five storeys linked through glazed circulation spaces, all sited within a Woodland setting.
DMA were awarded the design and build for the 4th pavilion in 2020 and the building was handed over in April 2023. As well as achieving Passivhaus and BREEAM accreditation, Pavilion 4 design respects the existing three pavilions and continues the ethos of encouraging collaboration and innovation central to the Loughborough University Science & Enterprise Park.
At the design stage, DMA had a clear set of requirements from Loughborough University. They are as follows:
- Create a fourth pavilion adding an extra 2000 sq metre extension to the existing SportPark facility. As the extension is commercial space, 1500 m2 net would be lettable, after circulation and meeting rooms.
- Use the same architectural language/ aesthetic to harmonise with the existing 3 pavilions; and
- From the start, Loughborough University had the ambition for SportPark 4 to achieve Passivhaus accreditation, setting the standard for future buildings to meet NetZero and low energy consumption while delivering comfortable office space
“It’s a privilege to be located in a Passivhaus building and it’s been a pleasure to be involved in this project with Loughborough University. Sustainability is extremely important to our staff, so working in a building that is environmentally future-proof is a significant move toward helping us to achieve net zero.”
SportPark Aerial View © John Kees Photography
“This latest Phase of SportPark continues our work to enhance lives through design, creating highly desirable low energy places that people choose to come and work in for the quality of environment and interactions it fosters.”
As lead consultant and design architect, DMA worked closely with Beyond Carbon, a leading Passivhaus engineering specialist, to design a building where triple glazing, an enhanced thermal efficient airtight building fabric, external solar shading and a highly efficient heat and ventilation system would combine to meet the high Passivhaus and BREEAM standards.
During the build stage, the close collaboration between DMA and Beyond Carbon continued, supporting the building contractors Henry Brothers, to keep to the challenging Passivhaus standards throughout the build. SportPark 4 achieved the Passivhaus Classic accreditation, widely regarded as the most challenging energy efficiency and comfort standards in the world.
“It allows us to move forward with our capital framework for other new builds and refurbishments in order to achieve our zero-carbon agenda for 2050.”
SportPark 4, as well as achieving Passivhaus accreditation, has set the benchmark for quality and low energy building efficiency for Loughborough University.
As well as acting as a model for future building for Loughborough University, SportPark 4 delivers:
- Dramatically lower energy requirements for heating and cooling,
- Much better health and well-being for potential occupants,
- Higher lettable yields for a commercial property as tenants increasingly are willing to pay for an environmentally friendly office space.
In keeping with Sport Park’s award-winning architecture and the University’s active campus ethos, the new development is also specifically designed to maximise connectivity within the building as well as outside.
The new SportPark pavilion will enable Loughborough University to welcome more organisations to the existing community which includes Sports England. SportsPark 4 is now the home of the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), having relocated its central office from London to SportPark Pavilion 4, occupying the entire third storey.
SportPark Pavilion 4 marks the 8th built project David Morley Architects have worked with Loughborough University on since the National Cricket Performance Centre in 2003.
Pavilion 3 and 4 connection © John Kees Photography
