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.

We collaborated with an international team of production engineers to design a facility to house the manufacturing and assembly process for the wings of the Airbus A380—the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

Manufacturing such a large and sophisticated wing required a vast amount of space: the building has a volume of 2.3 million cubic metres and a floor area equivalent to ten football pitches. We worked with Airbus to ensure the space provided a world-class workplace for leading aerospace designers, manufacturers and engineers, with plenty of natural lighting, ventilation and external views.

Our masterplan for Albion Square won unanimous approval from Hull’s planning committee. Our design includes 226 new homes and a large urban park, providing environmental and wellbeing benefits.

Our plan arranges four mixed-use blocks around the new park, designed to reflect the city’s history and respond to the surrounding context. Low-rise housing will harmonise with the existing Georgian terraces, and the Three Ships—the UK’s largest restored mural—will be returned to its original position.

This project merged two existing schools to create a 1650-place academy in Greater Manchester. This was part of a strategy to create healthy, successful and sustainable communities.

The layout features five ‘home bases’—one for each year group, to foster a sense of belonging and progression among students. Each base has its own pastoral and learning areas, centred around a double-height open learning space. They are connected by an ‘internal street’, which opens to shared social and dining spaces. The academy’s sport specialism is celebrated through the creation of a specialised hub, with a range of indoor and outdoor facilities.

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.

FaulknerBrowns’ vision for the south Boho site in Middlesbrough will revitalise the area, creating a vibrant space to live, work and enjoy.

The project will provide 340 new homes, a hotel and 13,000 square metres of workspace and hotels. These will be set in the context of public gardens, an orchard and the historic market square.

The new developments will celebrate the site’s rich heritage and natural features while providing a high standard of contemporary living.

Brett Wharf seeks to transform a traditionally industrial part of Gateshead into a thriving cultural destination. The project will provide 262 rental properties, offices, retail space, cafés and restaurants.

Given the site's position among heritage assets, our design seeks to integrate the buildings into the unique fabric of the area. Our design respects the lower pedestrian deck of the High Level Bridge: split over two buildings, the forms rise and fall as they move away from the listed structure.

Located on a constrained site in Oldham, this 1,200-place academy provides a versatile space for learning, playing and socialising. The materials and form of the buildings reference the area’s historic mill buildings.

The masonry four-storey teaching block contains learning spaces, a generous atrium and admin spaces, centred around a double-height dining hall. This connects with an external courtyard with sports, play and social spaces, which is framed by two metal clad double-height blocks containing the main hall and sports hall. This careful design maximises space for sports facilities on a challenging urban site.

After many failed attempts at regenerating this contaminated industrial site, FaulknerBrowns won the opportunity to design the commercial heart of Bristol Harbourside.

The masterplan features three buildings with retail and restaurant space at the ground level, creating an engaging and active streetscape. The buildings’ upper levels have varying uses: 70 social housing units, a 180-room hotel and a large leisure space. 

The main challenge was integrating diverse uses above ground while maximising the retail frontage. Our approach animated these challenging typologies, providing a vibrant new hub on this waterfront site.

As part of a redesign, FaulknerBrowns sought to transform this 1200-place secondary school into an inspiring and safe place for modern learning.

We carefully designed the site to preserve and protect four existing oak trees of ecological significance. In collaboration with a landscape architect, we introduced a ‘Forest School’—an enriching outdoor learning space that particularly benefits students with additional needs.

To further celebrate natural elements, we used extensive glazing to maximise natural light, creating a bright and inviting space that is conducive to learning.

Prior to redesign, the Chester-le-Street civic offices were spread over four buildings across Durham, meaning communication between departments was unsatisfactory and working conditions were poor. Our plan brought departments together and provided a collaborative and positive working environment.

We conceptualised the new building in collaboration with staff and studied the relationships within and between departments. The futuristic metal building utilises the strength and simplicity of the wedge shape with clear internal organisation. This social-impact-driven project merged civic administration with community activity.

Chill Factorᵉ is the UK’s largest real snow facility, and the fourth FaulknerBrowns has built in the UK. The centre is divided into two: the snow zone and the surrounding alpine-themed leisure district, which hosts bars, restaurants, retail outlets and an indoor climbing wall.

The soft Alpine street meanders through the building, punctuated by climbing walls, bridges, rocky fins and authentic shop fronts, creating a warm welcoming journey into this resort. The snow zone, with views of its slopes maintained from the street, features three pistes to accommodate varying ages, abilities and activities, with the longest run measuring 180 metres.

The redesign of Cockburn School aimed to transform the disparate buildings constructed over 40 years into a new, unified centre for learning, efficiently organised by department. We sought to revive the school in a way that would inspire pride. We constructed a more inviting entrance and transformed the existing courtyard into a space for dining, socialising and performing.

One of the main challenges was completing the necessary work with minimal disruption to the school. We achieved this with a phased approach and detailed timetabling that ensured a safe and functional school at all times. The success of this approach was illustrated by the fact attendance actually increased during the construction period, and continued to rise after completion, partly due to the revitalised learning spaces.

FaulknerBrowns’ design for Coventry University’s Yorkshire campus is guided by the high-quality and low-cost career-focused model of higher education. The campus aims to address the employment and skills needs of the area.

The three-storey building consists of an atrium spine which provides access to informal learning spaces, where students can study and collaborate in a less structured environment, as well as traditional classrooms.

The building’s exterior reflects the university’s corporate identity. This includes the colour of the cladding materials (render and rainscreen panels) in shades of grey, contrasting with yellow and the large CU Scarborough logos, as well as signage to the entrance and gable elevations.

Darlington Town Hall marks the first phase of the town centre’s redevelopment. Located next to the historic St. Cuthbert’s Church, FaulknerBrowns carefully designed the building to complement and respect its medieval architecture.

The design comprises three main elements: the administrative offices, the council suite and a separate block between the offices and the river to house the Medical Officer of Health's department.

We created the structures from reinforced concrete and steel. We finished the building with precast concrete cladding panels, a warm grey Cornish granite aggregate and bronze tinted glass.

Daventry UTC was one of the first technical colleges in the country, providing vocational education with an emphasis on sustainable technologies.

The three-storey learning block integrated practical and theory-based learning spaces, which overlooked a triple-height workshop running the full scale of the block, allowing room for large-scale projects. These were housed beneath a striking, industrial sawtooth roof. The design negotiated a significant slope and clusters of mature trees, which were retained and protected during construction.

The building created a distinctive identity for the UTC and was a prominent part of the town’s wider regeneration plans.

This integrated primary and secondary school represents a significant investment in learning and community in this historically deprived area of Leeds.

The site sits across the congested A58 road, presenting a design challenge, which we addressed by constructing a pedestrian footbridge to safely connect the second floor of the building to a stair and lift tower on the other side of the road.

The building is organised into three distinct areas: community facilities stacked vertically around a dining atrium with a Hellerup-style staircase, a primary school below and a secondary school above.

FaulknerBrowns’ decision to move offices stemmed from the need for a more flexible and cohesive workspace that lent itself to collaboration between teams. None of the existing offices in the area met our needs, so, appropriately, we designed and built our own.

We believe this building was the first in the North East to embody Bürolandschaft principles—a German office design movement that centres flexible working over rigid layouts. The building is single storey and was originally divided into three parts: one Bürolandschaft space (to this day still accommodating all of our design staff), a library and secretary space. An additional suite housed the administrative staff, print machine, model room and coffee area.

Designed and built in ten months, the building’s structure comprises an industrial steel framework and the external walls are made of dark brown brick and bronze-tinted glass.

Continuing FaulknerBrowns’ work with Durham University, we completed a remodel of their primary sports facility. This involved the refurbishment of existing facilities as well as an expansion, which included the addition of an indoor cricket hall, a 12-court multi-use sports hall, a martial arts studio and fitness suite, as well as sports science, recovery and support facilities.

The site is near a conservation area and has views of the Durham Castle and Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site. The design sensitively minimises the overall height of the development by adopting efficient forms and structures.

This project saw the regeneration of Durham City’s former ice rink site into an office space for National Savings & Investments, and new headquarters for HM Passport Office. The mixed-use masterplan also provides homes for 1200 of the agency’s staff and a new, attractive, riverside environment in place of a formerly derelict site.

The building combines modern architecture with a respect for the historic context. We ensured harmony with the surrounding cityscape, particularly the nearby UNESCO world heritage-listed cathedral and castle. The brickwork matches the local vernacular, and the zinc coated aluminium used on the roofscape and oriels weathers and darkens to blend with the surrounding slate and lead roofs. A clean, open-plan workplace with extensive glazing provides unparalleled views of the Durham skyline.

Underpinning the project is a focus on efficiency and simplicity. FaulknerBrowns helped to achieve this by pushing the agenda beyond the site boundary and building an alliance with adjacent stakeholders. By building these relations, we agreed to source 90% of the buildings’ annual electrical energy from the city centre hydro-turbine.

This plan was designed to encourage family participation, with leisure components given equal importance to high-quality competitive sports facilities. We adapted the building to the restricted site by designing it to be compact in form, while still housing three levels of accommodation between the main sports hall and pool hall.

With a desire to eliminate glare from the pool and activity spaces, the steel-framed building is inward looking and predominantly brick in finish. The major spaces are illuminated by roof lights, while suspended acoustic ceilings help diffuse light and manage sound.

This Pathway Centre offers courses for international students hoping to study at Newcastle University. FaulknerBrowns’ design for the building included a teaching facility that supports the delivery of a wide range of academic programmes, with flexible-layout classrooms, comfortable communal spaces for students to relax and socialise, and 537 bedrooms.

The rooms feature a mix of self-contained studios for more independent living, twin rooms with kitchenettes, and open clusters of six to eight rooms around shared living spaces. This mix allows INTO’s diverse student body to choose a living environment to suit them.

The new build and retrofitted historic buildings that form the Pathway Centre adopt a variety of architectural treatments to respond to a diverse urban context. Scale, fenestration and materials have been carefully considered to create active street frontages whilst supporting residents’ privacy, creating new landmarks whilst adopting a respectful relationship to the development’s neighbours.

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.

Janet Nash House is the European IT headquarters for global electrical business City Electrical Factors (CEF). The office is split into a north and south wing, each designed to uniquely support and stimulate the teams that use them. A 52 metre-long, glazed, airy atrium connects the wings and acts as a hub for interaction and innovation. The copper structures and porcelain panelling used throughout were chosen to represent a component of CEF’s core product—the electrical cable.

Employee well-being was centred in this project: we incorporated a fully equipped gym, healthy on-site café, outdoor terraces and cycle to work facilities.

InfoLab21 is a research centre for Computing and Communications systems at Lancaster University. The main aim of the centre is to encourage technology transfer from the university’s research to the local and regional industry.

The building’s green cladding with copper accents, glass facades and bold, angular form create a distinctive visual identity. The roof terrace and the centre’s focus on sustainability connect it to the surrounding environment. Internally, the research wing is configured in an innovative layout that brings together academic teams in shared 'club' spaces with transparent offices.

Against fierce competition, the building was awarded ‘Best Corporate Workplace’ at the prestigious British Council for Offices Awards, making it the first university building to receive the honour.

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.

Designed to double the capacity of the existing centre, this project includes two Olympic-sized ice rinks, a gym, dance studios, a community space and a café. It supports competitive skating, ice hockey and public sessions.

Visually, the building is a striking example of modern architecture. It is wrapped in a striking copper-hued band.

The centre is designed to support biodiversity: it is anchored by a plinth that incorporates bird and bat boxes and is covered in climbing plants that provide habitats for insects and birds. The rink is also the first in the UK to use filtered and recycled ice melt water to create and feed new wetland habitats.

The ice halls have insulated cladding, which helps to maintain optimum conditions for ice, and roof-mounted photovoltaic panels that provide green energy. The centre is fully powered by electricity, making it the most sustainable ice centre in the UK.

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 National Cycling Centre in Manchester has become the home of British Cycling. Widely considered the most successful velodrome in the world, the building’s role in developing the sport and increasing the UK’s medal tally cannot be underestimated.

As a competition venue it has hosted the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, and was the primary training facility for Team GB in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The centre includes a 250-metre cycling track, BMX facility, spectator seating for 4000 people, and training and support facilities for both elite athletes and the local community. A 122-metre arch supports the lightweight aluminium roof and provides unobstructed views for spectators.

We have been helping Market Halls, a UK start-up, to redefine the British concept of food halls. We carefully configured each space to celebrate independent vendors while creating a communal environment to share stories and enjoy high-quality and eclectic dishes. Each hall is authentic to its location, revitalising neglected spaces of architectural significance in London.

Designed in the 1880s, the ornate entrance hall of the Grade II-listed Underground station in Fulham Broadway had been vacant for six years before being sympathetically restored to create a vibrant and sustainable culinary destination.

We have been helping Market Halls, a UK start-up, to redefine the British concept of food halls. We carefully configured each of the spaces to celebrate independent vendors while creating a communal environment to share stories and enjoy high-quality and eclectic dishes. Each hall is authentic to its location, revitalising neglected spaces of architectural significance.

We regenerated a former department store to create Market Hall West End. Upon opening, it was the largest food market in the UK: the three-storey space can host up to 900 visitors. The top-floor has a retractable roof, meaning it can be converted into a rooftop bar in summer. Dedicated event spaces can be used to host video podcasts, interviews, and cooking demonstrations.

Part of Bangor University, this is the first dedicated science park in Wales. This landmark facility focuses on the low-carbon energy, ICT and environmental sectors, providing co-working spaces, offices, laboratories and workshops for new and established businesses.

FaulknerBrowns designed the building to foster community and encourage knowledge sharing. We created a vibrant central hub to act as a flexible work area, event venue and meeting point, linking the surrounding tenancy spaces that line the perimeter. Large, glazed panels provide natural light and views to Snowdonia and the surrounding countryside. The external structure features sharp angles and clean lines, with a white ribbon lining the exterior, giving the building a bold and futuristic look.

In March 2011, Monument Mall was a failing retail destination. Despite its location in the heart of Newcastle, it suffered from declining footfall and poorly configured retail units.

Property developers Hammerson invited us to apply our expertise in retail placemaking to transform Monument Mall into a prime retail destination that would attract aspirational brands. To do this, we reconfigured the internal layout, replacing some of the walkways with shops and restaurants with street entrances. This made them more accessible and gave the building a more active street presence, shifting away from the traditional enclosed mall layout towards an urban, high street feel.

This cultural venue hosts exhibitions, glass-making demonstrations and family crafts. Following its acquisition by the University of Sunderland, we were commissioned to breathe new life into the destination. 

Working with the university and Arts Council, we centred the design process around visitor experience, aiming to provide a reinvigorated cultural destination. We created an easily navigable landscape of galleries, interactive lecture facilities and creative teaching studios. The improved, intuitive layout has allowed for a variety of arts and cultural programmes and has increased visitor numbers.

FaulknerBrown’s redevelopment of Newcastle Civic Centre sought to preserve and enhance one of the city’s most important heritage assets. The Grade II* listed building blends rich history with modern architecture, consisting of a tower and connecting low-rise base with a central plaza.

Our redesign extended the building’s capacity as a civic venue and improved environmental performance, reducing energy consumption by 30%. We created a new entrance to resolve circulation and security issues, adding flexible, informal seating and a public café.

We also enclosed the ground-floor colonnade with a frameless glass façade, creating space for meeting pods that are aligned behind existing columns to minimise their visual impact.

Newcastle University’s Medical Sciences Centre provides a sustainable environment for two leading medical research teams: The Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB) and The Institute of Health and Society (IHS).

The building houses high-specification microbiological laboratories for CBCB, arranged with an innovative configuration of write-up areas housed in cascading terraces. These are linked by the primary circulation stair, which provides connections to the laboratories at each level, integrating the centre’s 100 researchers. In contrast, we created flexible and efficient office space for the dynamic IHS teams to undertake a range of health-related research projects.

A central forum connects the research groups and wider medical school, providing a reception area, café and seminar facilities.

Newcastle University’s listed Union Society building is both a significant landmark and the social focus of the campus. FaulknerBrowns’ refurbishment sought to introduce an additional dimension to the building by integrating informal learning spaces, ensuring it remains a vibrant student destination throughout the day.

A combination of internal reconfiguration and the construction of a new entrance and circulation areas supports the union’s objectives of participation, representation and experience. It increases the presence and accessibility of the union’s student advice, advocacy and volunteering support activities, and provides opportunities for new commercial activities that will support campus life.

Our redesign of Nottingham Library transformed the space into a hub for creation and knowledge sharing. We achieved this by rethinking the layout in a logical way: people-based spaces are placed at the front of the plan, benefiting from natural light, whereas book stock and administrative areas are positioned towards the back. Group-based activities are clustered at the centre of the plan. This thoughtful design, which includes specific low-stimulus areas, aims to support neurodivergent visitors.

The library is L-shaped and spans three levels, connected by a central entrance. The different ‘zones’ are woven together by a feature timber ceiling—which, along with the metal chandeliers that crown the entrance, celebrates the region’s lace-making industry—and a book wall that runs the length of the internal perimeter. The open-cell ceilings are integral to the ventilation and lighting strategy, with lace-effect lights and swirl diffusers providing comfort and task lighting.

Based in the city centre, Nottingham Ice Centre contains two Olympic-sized rinks and hosts community sessions, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey training.

FaulknerBrowns’ design prioritised flexibility and efficiency. The 7,500-person seating area surrounding the main rink can quickly be converted to hold a capacity of 10,000 for concerts. The corridor between the two rinks features cafés, offices and sports science facilities, maximising management flexibility and support for both rinks.

The quality of the venue led it to become the UK’s first centre of excellence in ice sports and the primary training facility for the Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating squad.

Number One Riverside is a multi-use office building overlooking the River Roch. It houses civic and third-party offices, the central library and the council customer service centre. The modern building was a catalyst for regeneration in the area, uniting previously disparate workspaces.

As well as being operationally efficient, FaulknerBrowns designed the building to be highly energy efficient; featuring solar panels, a biomass boiler, and a green roof that harvests rainwater and provides insulation.

Our design solution embodies the concept of an office as a versatile living space: the floorplan is divided into a variety of zones that are tuned to specific work processes, but still promotes knowledge sharing through the interconnected, weaving floorplates.

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.

This £43 million landmark project was one of the first integrated schools, sports and leisure projects in the United Kingdom.

The campus includes a primary school, secondary school and swimming pools shared by the schools and local community, as well as sports pitches and changing facilities for the town’s football, rugby and cricket clubs. Enhancing the versatility of the centre, there is also a library, café, climbing wall, soft-play area, fitness suite, sports halls and luxury spa.

The leisure facilities can be accessed separately from either side of the building, allowing them to switch between school and community use while maintaining the safeguarding of children.

FaulknerBrowns' redevelopment of Pudsey Grangefield School sought to provide a transformational learning environment. We reimagined the conventional classroom into spaces allocated to open, group, and show-and-tell learning, promoting both personal and project-based learning. Academic achievement significantly improved following the redevelopment, demonstrating the success of this approach.

The L-shaped building divides the school into two blocks containing community and learning facilities, creating easily separated community resources after school hours. The blocks are connected by two internal streets for social dining and open learning during the school day.

We responded to the challenging site—located on a significant gradient and bisected by two public rights of way—by carefully designing the facilities so that each of the school’s three storeys has ‘ground-level’ access to the landscape.

The centre’s location in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens—easily accessible from most student accommodation—makes it an attractive and calming space to exercise. 

FaulknerBrowns chose a circular form for the building, in contrast to the box-like appearance of the previous sports centre. Although smaller in mass and scale, this design gives it a strong presence. The building centres around a two-floor climbing wall, which is visible to all visitors.

The centre also features a café overlooking the park and the river, and is a major asset to the sporting and social life of south Belfast.

The innovation forum aims to support the inception and early growth of new businesses, and provide a community hub that promotes engagement with science and industry.

The building contains flexible working units of varying sizes to provide companies with space to grow and develop, as well as a reception area, conference facilities, laboratories and workshops to support a wide spectrum of business.

A large, central café acts as a meeting hub for resident businesses, promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration. We carefully designed the building form and selected materials to create a robust and sustainable facility that plays an important role in the continued development of the region.

Scarborough UTC provides high-quality academic and technical facilities specialising in engineering, manufacturing and technology. The college is part of the social and economic regeneration of Scarborough, providing education, skills and career opportunities.

FaulknerBrowns had a tight timeline for this project: we successfully completed design within six weeks, with just 18 months from briefing to occupation. We achieved this by developing a fixed building envelope that reflected the context of the site, allowing us to achieve planning consent while we continued to develop the interior.

The three-storey building consists of a learning block with formal and informal learning spaces arranged around an atrium. This connects to a double-height engineering workshop that has a glazed ‘shop front’ by the main entrance, celebrating UTC’s specialism.

This project was particularly interesting because it posed the challenge of creating a community facility in the commercial environment of Westfield shopping centre.

As with all FaulknerBrowns’ library projects, we sought to reimagine the traditional library typology and cater to a diverse set of users. In addition to quiet study areas, we designed warm and welcoming spaces for social interaction, modern IT facilities, meeting and exhibition spaces, and a dedicated children's activity area.

Visually, the building has a curved glass facade, maximising natural light and creating an inviting environment to passers-by. The success of this project was demonstrated by the 50% increase in books borrowed in the six months after opening, alongside a 300% increase in new members.

The East Stand was the first phase of redevelopment for Newcastle United Football Club’s existing stadium in 1972. FaulknerBrowns designed the East Stand for longevity, recognising the enduring role it would need to play over the coming decades.

The site dimensions were limited to the east by trees, which were retained, and the need to respect the right to light for the neighbouring Leazes Terrace—a Grade I-listed terraced residence. To the west we were constrained by the need to keep the existing pitch, and to the north by the existing covered stand.

A continuous band of turnstiles ensures safe access and prevents over-crowding. The concrete columns and frame of the external structure are ribbed vertically, exposing the local stone used beneath. The stand also features large glass panels, plastic seats, and galvanised handrails, designed to be practical and durable.

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.

Teesside’s Student Life building acts as a central home for the university’s range of support services and provides spaces for a variety of learning styles.

Despite a relatively simple exterior, the interior was carefully developed to integrate support services with learning facilities and was arranged to balance openness with confidentiality. Generally, social and collaborative spaces—such as the ‘Creator Lab’, ‘Digital Futures’ centre and café—are found on the ground floor, with quieter, individual learning spaces placed higher up for privacy.

The building had a notable social impact, particularly in supporting the retention and success of students with complex learning needs and was recognised with an RICS Social Impact Award in 2020.

The Core was the first phase of the ambitious Science Central development in Newcastle. The brief was to deliver a landmark building to support start-up and university spin-out businesses. In response, we designed a concrete frame on a six-metre grid, providing flexibility for companies to expand without relocating. To support collaboration, the ground floor is designed as a flexible public event space for exhibitions, presentations, networking and meetings.

One of the most striking features of the building is the seven-storey, 27-metre-high living wall—one of the tallest in the country. The installation features more than 35,000 plants, attracting and supporting local wildlife and biodiversity.

This five-storey student accommodation building has over 200 rooms, split between studio apartments and en-suites. The ground-floor provides space for study and social interaction, and connects to a central courtyard that is overlooked by the kitchens. The bedrooms are placed around the perimeter of the building to benefit from views, natural light and ventilation.

We employed off-site construction to maximise site development potential and efficiency—the time between construction starting and occupation was just 12 months. The bright aluminium cladding gives a distinctive identity, which is continued internally.

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.

The Acer Nethercott Sports Centre is set in the grounds of the Iffley Road running track—known as the home of Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile. The centre’s most distinctive feature is its LED-lit glass ‘smart’ floor—the first of its kind in the UK. The lights beneath the surface can be operated via touch screen to form court lines for 84 different sports, including badminton, basketball, handball and volleyball, widening the variety of sports students can try. This innovative solution was developed over five years in collaboration with the university. The building embraces low and zero-carbon technologies, including the heat recovery system that capitalises on unused heat from the neighbouring pool.

This centre was part of a £20 million transformation of the University of Stirling’s sports facilities, which include national tennis and swimming academies.

The new building includes a fitness suite with more than 100 stations, three-court sports hall, indoor cycling studio, strength and conditioning area, and a state-of-the-art performance gym.

Users of the building also benefit from enhanced changing facilities and social spaces, including a café. The building’s glazed frontage exposes a central cylindrical drum with vertical timber fins spaced to create a concertina effect. This feature presents the illusion of motion and acts as a welcoming focal point in the entrance.

CitySpace has become the heart of the University of Sunderland’s city campus, creating a centre point for non-academic campus life. Designed to serve students, staff and the wider community, the building is uniquely equipped to facilitate a mix of sports, socials and events.

A multi-level hub provides space for dining and socialising, and can support small-scale performances. A climbing wall connects to a six-court sports hall with bleacher seating that can support larger events. On the upper level, a 70-station fitness area overlooks the central campus square.

The main events space on the ground floor, known as ‘City Studio’, has a fully glazed frontage, making it highly visible from the main circulation route through the campus. It is well used by student and community groups, providing a blank canvas for larger cultural and social events such as exhibitions, performances, seminars and yoga. A clever system of movable panels hung from ceiling tracks allows an almost limitless range of configurations.

Visually, FaulknerBrowns sought to make the centre a landmark student facility. This was achieved by using a distinctive façade of pre-cast concrete panels with inset coloured glazing. This bold façade is multi-functional, creating architectural impact, providing visibility of the activities within, and helping to shade interior spaces from south-facing sun.

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.

This project involved a £120-million regeneration of residential, office and commercial spaces on Wakefield’s historic waterfront. FaulknerBrowns were chosen to lead this high-value redevelopment after two previous proposals failed. Our plan was differentiated by our strategy to deliver five independent, mixed-use zones—each of which was self-supporting in terms of access, infrastructure, parking and pedestrian connectivity.

The residential component comprises 400 apartments in a mixture of historic industrial structures and new build, with commercial units on the ground floors animating the interconnected courtyards.

The masterplan was sensitive to the history and natural surroundings of the site. We collaborated with conservation architects and David Chipperfield, whose Hepworth Gallery sits on the northern edge of the masterplan. The prominent apartment balconies are constructed from ‘flitched’ timber and steel in reference to the canal-side infrastructure.

Walthamstow Library was a deteriorating Grade II-listed building with declining visitor numbers. FaulknerBrowns were selected to carry out a full refurbishment and extension to modernise it and attract a more diverse audience.

To ensure the new library met the needs of all local demographics, we carried out a thorough public consultation process to help refine our approach for the scheme. Our design solution provided a stimulating and innovative facility.

We replaced the existing 1980s entrance with a striking, glazed lobby with decorative terracotta tiles that blend historic materials with contemporary design. We also created a dedicated children’s library extension and undertook substantial renovation of the remainder of the building, including accessibility improvements. The modernisation of the facility led to book loans increasing by 350%.

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.

This project aimed to consolidate Wolsingham School on a single site. The client originally intended to refurbish and extend the 1960s buildings of its northern site and sell the southern site for housing. However, after a detailed feasibility study, FaulknerBrowns reversed this, instead extending and refurbishing the original Edwardian school building—a significant local landmark—on the southern site and generating a much higher capital receipt from housing on the northern site.

The three-storey extension uses the stone walls of the existing courtyard to frame a dramatic new dining, social and informal learning space. The former school hall was converted into a library, with further informal learning spaces created at each end of the extension.

The exterior walls of the extension have an irregular pattern of vertical elements, creating a lively and modern rhythm while respecting the materials, proportions and history of this 400-year-old school.

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.

Xscape Braehead followed the success of FaulknerBrowns’ previous Xscape projects in Milton Keynes and Castleford. The project provided the first indoor real snow slope in Scotland.

Similar to the other branches, we sought to integrate a variety of commercial and leisure elements alongside the snow slope to increase revenue opportunities and cater to different age groups and interests. The venue features a multiplex cinema, ten-pin bowling alley, indoor golf, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops. More ambitious leisure elements including rock and ice climbing walls, an assault course, a giant 3G swing, a skydiving wind tunnel, a trampoline park and a laser tag centre.

The building is characterised by the large, sloped cuboid structure housing the ski slope that projects prominently from the roofline, creating a distinctive visual landmark along the River Clyde.

Following the success of Xscape Milton Keynes, FaulknerBrowns were invited to deliver the next Xscape facility in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

Like the original centre, Xscape Castleford features a real-snow indoor ski slope, a multiplex cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley, a climbing wall, bars, restaurants and shops. For this location, we sought to attract an even wider mix of visitors by introducing an ice climbing wall, high-level assault course, trampoline park, kids’ soft-play area, and indoor and outdoor skateboarding parks, among other leisure offerings.

Visually, the building is defined by the prominent, purple-clad sloping roof profile which houses the ski slope. This angular design gives the centre a distinct visual identity.

Xscape Milton Keynes is a sport, entertainment and retail complex housing an indoor real-snow ski slope—the first venue of its kind in Europe. The slope is 170 metres long, 60 metres wide and covered in 1,500 tonnes of snow, making it the largest real-snow slope in the UK.

As well as the slope, the centre features a 16-screen cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley, a family entertainment centre, a nightclub, a gym, restaurants, bars and shops. This expands the centre’s commercial potential by attracting a wider mix of visitors.

Visually, the building is defined by its bold, curved roof structure that was achieved through a steel frame made from 5,000 tonnes of prefabricated steel. This design accommodates the facility’s main attraction and creates a striking skyline.