TENNIS – CANTERBURY (UK)

Construction of a tennis hall with a glued laminated timber structure and a textile membrane roof

The Client was the University of Kent. The project involved the taking down an existing 3 court ‘Best Hall’  structure with a tubular steel frame and flat membrane cladding and replacing it with our bigger 4 court glulam timber structure.  It has dual skin membranes to roof and facades. There is a comprehensive variable speed ventilation system with 8 automated fans and 4 large automated louvres which control airflow and exchange depending upon ambient temperature and CO2 levels.  Fully automated dehumidification plant has also been installed.

This indoor tennis facility has been designed to offer the ideal sporting comfort to players, with acoustic, thermal and luminous well-being, as the stretched canvas provides natural light within the structure.

Our building is designed for tennis and netball. However, the University uses the hall not only for sport pratices but also to host events such as concerts and exhibitions. In July 2022, they will be hosting a 4 day event called the Lambeth Conference which brings together  2000  Anglican Bishops and the wives from all over the world. This event happens once every 10 years and was originally scheduled for July 2020. It was postponed due to COVID 19  and was in fact the catalyst for the University embarking on the investment in this project.

The building has extensive washroom and changing facilities and a commercial kitchen  housed within two modular timber frame stand alone ‘boxes’ built under the roof of our structure.. These facilities were provided under separate contract. We also included 200m2 of covered storage, 26 new parking spaces and a large enclosed service yard area at the rear of the building.