Freman College
We designed and built a four-court multi sport facility, a viewing balcony and integrated changing and shower rooms. We also incorporated six new classrooms into the design and build project.
Providing students with more space for PE lessons and sports
Since the college opened in the 1970s the population of the college had more than doubled, so the existing internal sports facilities, which consisted of a single court gym and use of the main hall for overflow, had been significantly outgrown.
The school’s leadership team was constantly faced with the problematic situation of trying to timetable 120 students to take part in PE lessons with the knowledge that the unreliable UK weather often ruled out the use of external playing areas.
That’s not to mention the issues that the exam period brought into the equation, when using the space for exams further ruled out PE activity.
Court
football pitch
court
Courts
Demonstrating a successful track record
As part of their reserach for the project, the deputy head teacher and the heads of PE at Freman College visited two previous Collinson projects – the William Edwards Centre of Excellence at Badminton School and Stanground College’s new sports facility.
The visits demonstrated the versatility in design of the tensile structures. The client was impressed with the high curved ceilings achieved by the steel superstructure, while the ability to integrate equipment storage rooms into the building was a hit.
The amount of natural daylight which flooded in through the tensile membrane was the icing on the cake, and the client came away from the visits full of ideas and inspiration for their new facility.
A truly verstaile space
The completed facility includes a four court multi sports facility marked out for basketball, cricket nets, five-a-side football, volleyball, badminton and futsal; integrated changing and shower facilities to enable external sporting groups of all ages to use the facility out of school hours; a fitness suite; four PE classrooms which will be utilised for the sole use of theory based PE lessons; two ICT suites; equipment storage areas; a spectator zone and an office.
Testimonial
With each new project we embark on, we take forward new and exciting ideas that we are proud to share, at Freman College the integration of the classrooms into the sports facility really proves the versatility of our tensile structures
Sam Collinson, Managing Director of Collinson Construction
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