Eton College Sports and Aquatic Centre
Redevelopment of Eton College’s sporting facilities, providing its students with the highest quality amenities commensurate with the status of the college.
Services (7)
Location
Eton, United Kingdom
Client
Eton College
Architect
Hopkins Architects
The Eton Sports and Aquatics Centre (ESAC) provides a 25m indoor swimming pool, a four court multi-purpose sports hall and associated spectator, changing and administration facilities. The pool incorporates a movable floor to increase flexibility, allowing the pool to be used for swimming, water polo and teaching. The multi-purpose sports hall is designed to facilitate examination use by the school.
The design incorporates the latest (but proven) technology, but not at the expense of simple solutions like natural ventilation. Glulam beams, spanning up to 31m, have been chosen for the roof structure to support a green roof and PV panels. Timber was selected not only for its low embodied CO2 but also for its durability in a swimming pool environment.
Cundall has provided a full range of engineering disciplines resulting in a beautifully designed and engineered building using a wide pallet of materials. These have been skilfully integrated to link the outside gardens with the interior and allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the heart of the spaces.
This project came with a number of exacting challenges: from planning restrictions to difficult ground conditions. The Cundall design team collaborated superbly to deliver this beautiful building where the engineering is almost invisibly integrated within the overall building aesthetics.
Awards
Winner
Professional Medium Category
AIA UK Excellence in Design Awards
Winner
UK Project
Structural Engineering Awards - South Eastern Counties