Performance Sport

We have collaborated with Sport England, Sport Ireland, the English Institute of Sport and countless international governing bodies to create world-class performance centres, benchmarked against top facilities around the globe. We have also worked closely with cities and facility operators to deliver events venues for international competitions, including the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and various World Championships.

These highly functional, flexible and sustainable buildings and facilities are consistently recognised for their innovation and design quality by awarding bodies, from the World Architecture Festival (WAF) to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). We have been named Building Design’s ‘Sports and Leisure Architect of the Year’ four times and have been awarded more prizes by the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) than any other practice.

Our portfolio of sports projects around the world includes velodromes, aquatics centres and high-performance training facilities:

Our facilities are repeatedly used to host major events. The National Cycling Centre in Manchester - widely considered the most successful velodrome in the world - hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games track races and was the primary training facility for Team GB in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Following the momentum of Team GB’s success at the games, a new velodrome was proposed in Derby as an Olympic Legacy project, which we designed to inspire wider participation in track cycling and other sports.

FaulknerBrowns-designed velodromes have also hosted the UCI Track World Championships on no less than five occasions. Alongside this, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Canada was host to the 2015 Pan American Games, while Omnisportcentrum Apeldoorn hosted the European Track Championships in 2011, 2013, 2019 and 2024. This is a track record we are proud to share.

To ensure we remain at the cutting edge of velodrome design, we maintain engaging relationships with track designers, riders, coaches and operators including the UCI, the world governing body of cycling, who provide critical feedback to our progressive thinking on velodromes; evaluating and assessing what works – and crucially what doesn’t. We ensure that facilities conform to UCI regulations while providing the best rider and spectator experiences, and for that reason the UCI keep returning to our buildings.

Compact, dramatic and world-class; we are continually developing new ideas for the velodrome of the future. How could an exceptional indoor velodrome track and spectating venue be created in a modern and futuristic facility? Our proposals for such a velodrome contain all the component parts to realise the most admired and high-performance centre in the world of track cycling.

Currently in development and soon joining our active portfolio of velodromes around the world are Abu Dhabi Velodrome, Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre and Sport Ireland’s National Velodrome and Badminton Centre.

See more of our velodrome projects.

Our broader portfolio of aquatics facilities also continues to grow. Across the UK, we designed Aberdeen and Manchester Aquatics Centres, Moorways Sports Village, Britannia Leisure Centre and Ravelin Sports Centre – which has set a new standard for ultra-low energy sports facilities. Around the globe, we have developed aquatics facilities in the Netherlands and Dubai.

With our wealth of knowledge gained from these projects, we have developed important benchmarks which allow us to challenge ourselves and our clients and provide a platform for innovation.

We are delighted to now be working as part of the team to breathe new life into the iconic Crystal Palace National Sports Centre: a once-in-a-generation redevelopment.

See more of our aquatics projects.

Beyond the UK, venues such as Sportcampus Zuiderpark, Omnisport Apeldoorn and the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton have produced numerous medal winners for the Netherlands and Canada. These facilities have genuinely driven their countries to international success by providing the environment and equipment needed to develop athletes.

We believe that as spectacular athletic competition can inspire the public, the best performance and training facilities can also inspire the communities around them, by combining places for competition, training and fitness with places to find fun and confidence in movement.

See more of our high-performance training projects.