Projects

This project represented a major investment in competitive swimming in Scotland. The Olympic-standard centre features two halls housing the 50m ten-lane training pool and 25m pool, which has a full range of diving facilities (making it one of just ten centres in the UK to provide this).

The pools are separated by accommodation and changing rooms, allowing them to be used for different activities simultaneously, including school swimming lessons, fitness classes and training sessions.

The precise geometry and black zinc used for the pool hall stands in sharp juxtaposition to the taller, aluminium-clad diving hall.

This landmark project broadened the definition of leisure buildings and became the standard against which future recreation projects would be measured.

The building is recognised by the distinctive glazed pyramid that houses a 300m2 ‘leisure lagoon’—the UK’s first leisure pool. The facility also includes a sports hall, bowling green, youth club, theatre and bowling alley, making it a comprehensive hub for recreation and community-building. Its success spurred the English Sports Council to add leisure to its existing remit for sport, making this project one that changed the public experience of sport.

This project was an important component of Inverclyde Council’s efforts to regenerate the Greenock Waterfront area. FaulknerBrowns won the commission owing to their track record for innovative leisure centres and progressive business practice.

The exterior of the building is visually striking. The sloping roof is intersected with a whalebone-like structure of curved beams, providing both structural support and a distinct visual identity. The building’s nautical-inspired features channel the area's maritime heritage.

Inverness Aquatics Centre was commissioned and designed to encourage community engagement, health and wellbeing. The centre features a 25-metre championship pool, leisure waters and an outdoor lagoon, as well as a health suite, café and function room. The floor of the main pool can be raised to accommodate beginners and less confident swimmers.

The facility has become a regional tourist attraction and community hub. In its first year of operation, it attracted almost 450,000 visitors, making it one of the top ten attractions in Scotland.

This sports centre was developed as part of a strategy to improve the lifestyle offerings for staff and students at Lancaster University, as well as the local community. The centre provides both fitness and competition-standard facilities, including an eight-lane swimming pool, climbing wall, four sports halls and comprehensive fitness suite.

The large glass facades provide abundant natural light and promote the quality of the facilities inside. The centre was designed around sustainable goals, utilising green solutions like natural ventilation and a CHP plant that efficiently generates electricity and heat from the same source.

On opening, around 13,000 people a week used the centre, with 50% coming from the local community—far exceeding anticipated numbers.

Latymer Upper School is an independent school in West London known for excelling in sports. Following a competitive interview process, FaulknerBrowns won the commission to design a redevelopment of their existing sports facilities, which were no longer fit for purpose.

The centre includes a 25m six-lane swimming pool, a four-court sports hall and a gym. The site is on a conservation area by the River Thames, and is surrounded by sensitive residential streets, meaning it required careful negotiation, particularly regarding neighbours’ ‘right to light’. In response to the constrained site, we chose to stack the multi-purpose halls above the swimming pool to maximise space. We also orientated the building towards the busy A4, creating a high-profile design which particularly at night, advertises the school’s presence.

Commissioned to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Manchester Aquatics Centre houses two 50m pools, a diving pool, a leisure water area with flumes, children’s play area and a health suite.

Both 50m pools have moveable floors to cater to a variety of users. The training pool is located on the basement level of the building, optimising space on this compact site.

Visually, the centre is striking and modern. The curved roof gives the building an iconic profile that is distinct in the city’s architectural landscape. Inside, the rippling, wavy form of the ceiling imitates the motion of water, connecting the design to the building’s purpose.

The Nieuw Vennep Sport Centrum in the Netherlands is one of Europe’s most dynamic sports facilities. It houses a 25-metre pool, 20-metre training pool and children’s fun pools, as well as outdoor kids’ pools and a 25-metre pool based on a traditional lido. Visitors can also enjoy the sports hall, fitness suite, sauna and steam rooms, and dance studios.

We maximised flexibility by implementing drop-down acoustic screens to divide the hall, movable pool floors to maximise swim-training potential and screens to divide the dance studios. We also incorporated solar panels and heat recovery systems, in line with the Dutch commitment to environmental responsibility.

FaulknerBrowns won an international competition to design a flexible community pool in the Netherlands. Our aim for Nijmegen was to create a beautiful and sustainable swimming facility that would blend into the tranquil, green surroundings and evoke the sensation of swimming in the woods.

We used carefully selected materials and techniques to meet sustainability goals and ensure energy efficiency. The polished stainless-steel cladding reflects surrounding greenery and provides insulation. Both water and heat are recovered and reused inside, partly for underfloor heating, which—along with the wood-panelled ceilings—provides a cosy and inviting atmosphere.

We are working alongside Newcastle City Council and Morgan Sindall to deliver a new leisure centre in West Denton.

The project is currently on-site and is one of the largest investments in the area for many years. Once complete, it will offer the community new opportunities for sport, recreation, and social activities.

The centre comprises a 25-metre competition swimming pool, training pool and splash pad, with further facilities including a four-court sports hall, multi-use studios, gym, soft play, café and library.

With peak attendance of over 700,000 visitors per year, Perth Leisure Centre is one of the preeminent tourist attractions in Scotland. Designed in 1984, we sought to inject colour, vibrancy and fun into the centre, transforming the traditional leisure pool archetype.

Comprising five pools, including an outdoor lagoon, flume rides, bubble beds and other features unique to Scotland at the time, the combination of leisure and formal pools proved outstandingly successful. This project reflects FaulknerBrowns’ continuous search to introduce new and high-quality experiences to the general public.

We were one of twelve international architects to compete for the design of this major leisure centre in the Netherlands. The complex contains an Olympic-sized ice rink with leisure ice trails, a large multi-purpose sports hall, health suite and sauna, function rooms and three pools. Additionally, the AquaFun family area features a wave pool and lazy river with a Hawaiian theme–injecting colour and playfulness into the space. Visitors can also relax in the viewing areas, cafés and restaurants.

FaulknerBrowns was chosen to design the redevelopment of St. John’s pool building. We created a two-storey extension that accommodates a 25-metre swimming pool, gym and multi-purpose space. The building wraps around two sides of the existing sports hall, giving the appearance of a completely refreshed facility and allowing for further expansion in future phases.

We implemented a dual-pitch roof form, minimising the height so as not to impose on the main sports hall or neighbouring properties. The double-pitch design is replicated inside the pool hall with a steel frame and glass panels, creating continuity of aesthetic.

Rooflights above the pool allow natural light in and reduce the need for artificial lighting. Natural tones and materials are used throughout, namely light timber and large glazed panelling, which create soft and airy activity spaces.

The University of Surrey Sports Park is one of the largest higher education sports centres in the UK. The extensive mix of facilities includes a 50-metre pool, 12-court sports hall, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, rugby, football and hockey pitches, and two multi-use games areas. The centre also includes a café, restaurant, bars and conference rooms, making it a truly multi-purpose venue.

The facility was designed to international standards, supporting high-performance athletes, but also providing a warm and welcoming space for all users. The prominent use of light timber and the fluid roof form help to soften the building’s scale and ground it in its natural surroundings.

The park was used as a training venue for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games—a testament to the quality of its facilities and design.

The Wave is a high-octane leisure destination in Coventry city centre. The park includes six flume rides, a wave pool, lazy river, toddlers’ splash area and 25-metre pool.

The exhilarating leisure experience is contained within a 50-metre diameter drum, with the upper portions wrapped in a metal-clad skin. The main pool sits 11 metres above street level, with a glass opening in the cladding offering views out over the city.

The centre’s dry facilities include a fitness suite, squash courts and spa. The spa has a separate access point away from the high-traffic main entrance, allowing it to be operated independently. It features its own reception and changing facilities, three dry treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room, aromatherapy room and plunge pool.

FaulknerBrowns were invited to work with the London Borough of Hillingdon to revitalise Uxbridge Lido—which had fallen into disrepair—into a comprehensive sports and leisure complex. Our three main goals for the project were a full and meticulous restoration of the outdoor pool; to design indoor facilities that would support elite training as well as the health of the local community; and to refurbish and preserve the site’s Grade II-listed, art-deco style grandstand and cascades.

To achieve this, we designed a 50-metre eight-lane pool, leisure pool, sports hall with four badminton courts, gym with sauna and steam rooms, fitness class studio, crèche and café. New outdoor facilities include a 400-metre eight-lane athletics track, rugby and football pitches, and a changing pavilion. We also restored the ‘moderne’-style, star-shaped lido back to its former glory.

Royal Quays is a large mixed-use development in North Tyneside. The first phase of this was Wet ‘n’ Wild waterpark, which at the time was the only commercially funded and operated waterpark of its kind in the UK.

FaulknerBrowns sought to create an immersive and vibrant facility with rides of varying intensity. The wave pool and a lazy river offered a more relaxing experience for those less adrenaline inclined. We also designed a dedicated small children’s area with slides and games.

Although now closed, the waterpark contributed to the ongoing regeneration of the region.

We collaborated with the Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) in the design and delivery of Woolwich Waves, a new state-of-the-art leisure centre and community hub. The building features an array of wet and dry sports facilities, including an eight-lane 25m competition pool, a training pool, several leisure pools, a split-level fitness suite, six-court sports hall, squash courts, exercise studios, a crèche, and soft play. In addition, the building provides expanded facilities for the adjacent Tramshed Youth Theatre, a heritage asset which we refurbished in 2023, including two new multi-purpose spaces, and a physical connection between the two buildings.

Woolwich Waves is the first phase of RBG’s ‘The Woolwich Project’ and sits as the heart of a transformational mixed-use scheme and comprehensive masterplan centred around a health and wellbeing vision; regenerating an important, under-utilised town centre site and creating a vibrant neighbourhood where residents can live, work, play, exercise and relax within walking distances of their homes.