Morpeth Sports and Leisure Centre
GT3 Architects

The new Morpeth Sports and Leisure Centre is a development of a new typology of public sector building, combining sport and leisure with community facilities. The building’s form was a response to the brief’s activity zone requirements and boundary constraints. The juxtaposition between external and internal factors, curated a sympathetic shape which provided inviting outdoor spaces and comfortable separation between key differing indoor activity spaces, including sports hall and swimming pool. This led to the idea of splitting the building’s relatively slender form lengthways, offering a controlled envelope, which encloses the majority of energy-intensive volumes to the north, and a fully glazed façade to the public street space. The centre is designed to be a hub for the local area, with it’s objective to encourage increased participation in a number of categories including fitness and educational development. Through extensive liaising with the Cladding Specialists, a perforation pattern was developed which replicates the tree foliage, varying in density to mirror the tree extent beyond, so as to offer an even yet equally natural ‘solar defence’ during the warmer months. Due to the building’s location and the client’s concern over asset damage/loss, flooding analysis played a key role in the building’s design. All ground floor walls were constructed of blockwork to avoid major damage and floor finishes in key spaces be tiled for ease of cleaning. Much effort was given to the brick recesses, and closing of the door head, to accomplish a ‘hiding in plain sight’ appearance.