Upgrade designed by Faulkner Browns with work on grade II*-listed site to begin later this year
Faulkner Browns’ plans to refurbish Crystal Palace Sports Centre in south London have been given the green light.
The project is aiming to modernise the grade II*-listed sports centre, originally opened in 1964, while showcasing its heritage and historic features.
Work is expected to start late this year with Morgan Sindall already appointed as main contractor.
The complex was designed in the 1950s by London county council architect Norman Engleback and built close to the site of where the Crystal Palace burned down in 1936. It is considered an important example of British post-war modernism.
It is one of five national sports centres and includes two main buildings, the sports centre itself and a 15,500-seat stadium which is partly sunken into Crystal Palace park.
Work on the 15ha site will include refurbishing the sports centre building with improved accessibility and additional sports club spaces, renovating existing stands in the stadium and adding a new North Stand.
The diving pool and 50m swimming pool will also return in the aquatics hall, with shallow water, 25m swimming, 50m swimming, and diving all to be provided in one space and on one level for the first time.
Outdoor spaces will also be overhauled with the addition of a six-court padel centre along with new basketball courts, five-a-side football pitches and a full-size artificial multi-sports pitch.
The project is targeting a 98% reduction in carbon emissions compared to current levels at the site through the addition of PV panels and air source heat pumps.
Other firms working on the scheme include heritage conservation specialist Alan Baxter Associates, sustainability consultant Max Fordham and sports masterplan specialist WOO Architects, part of the creative team behind both the London and Paris Olympics.
The project team for the scheme has been procured using the Southern Construction Framework.
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