sports halls - design and layouts 2012

7/28/2019 Sports Halls - Design and Layouts 2012

1/54

February Revision 005 Sport England 2012

DesignGuidance Note

Updated & Combined Guidance

Sports HallsDesign & Layouts

Creating sporting opportunities in every community


2/54

Sports Halls DesignGuidance Note

February Revision 005 1 Sport England 2012

Foreword

Sport England believes that good acilities areundamental to developing sporting opportunitiesor everyone, rom the youngest beginner to theinternational class athlete. The buildings whetherlarge or small can encourage civic pride andassist the process o revitalising deprivedneighbourhoods. Facilities that are well designedbuilt to last and well maintained are a pleasure touse and give an ample return on the time andmoney invested in their construction and day today use.

Good design needs to be based on a soundunderstanding o such issues as the current trends

and practices within individual sports, the widerleisure industry and the lessons to be learnt rompreviously built schemes.

Good design needs to be embraced within theearliest vision statement or a particular projectand enshrined in the initial brieing stage throughto the inal detailed speciications and operationalarrangements.

Sport England design guidance notes aim topromote a greater general understanding o overall

design concepts, an appreciation o technicalissues and the critical actors that need to beconsidered in reaching the appropriate solution ora particular project. They also advise where urtherinormation, advice and expertise may be oundand point to benchmark examples.

Increase awareness ogood design in sportsacilities

Help key buildingproessions, clients,user representatives

and other stakeholdersto ollow best practice

Encourage welldesigned sportsacilities that meet the

needs o sports and area pleasure to use.

Sport Englands designguidance notes aim to:

To be read inconjunction with

separate Sport Englandpublication Developingthe Right Sports Hall.

This interim update aligns with the new SportEngland publication Developing the Right SportsHall and the Sports Data Sheets.

Later in 2012, Sport England will be rehosting aully updated revision o Sports Halls Design andLayouts design guidance note to encompass the

latest round o developments and initiativescurrently under discussion.


3/54



Contents

1.0 Introduction 3

General

National statistics and trends

Current challenges

Levels o play

Adjustments o space requirements

Modular approach to hall sizes

Speciications or multi-sport halls

Range o sports and local needs

Quality

2.0 Site selection and planning 10

Active design objectives

Location

External planning

External appearance

3.0 Scale o acility 13

4.0 Hall and centre planning 16

Main Entrance

Reception area and oce accommodation

Social and viewing areas

Spectator seating / viewing

Changing capacity

Changing areas

Clothes storage lockers

Showers

Equipment store

Mat store

Special events

Toilet accommodation

First aid room / physiotherapy room

Cleaners store

Sta acilities

Secondary areas

o Fitness equipment room

o Ancillary halls

5.0 Detailed design o the sports hall 26

General design

Access to and rom the sports hall

Structure

Sports foor

Internal walls

Exterior acades

Roo

Fittings

6.0 Environmental & sustainability issues 32

Energy eciency

Overall heating and ventilation requirements

Choice o systems

Comparison o heating / ventilation systems

Articial lighting

Daylighting

Acoustics

Reverberation times

Sound insulation

7.0 External sports acilities 37

Appendix 1 38

Standard multi-sport halls

o Four-court hall

o Five-court hall

o Six-court hall

o Larger hall congurations

Appendix 2 43

Court dimensions

o Badmintono Basketball

o Cricket practice / Indoor cricket

o Five-a-side

o Futsal

o Handball

o (Indoor) Hockey

o Korball

o Netball

o Volleyball


4/54



General

This guidance note covers the design and planningo multi sports and specialist sports halls and theirattendant accommodation. These halls can be inthe orm o a single stand alone building withminimum support accommodation or as acomponent within a larger centre.

The building type can be traced back to thebeginning o the last century. Some early examplesbeing simple sports barns on school sites thatgave basic weather projection to outdoor playingareas. Others were part o larger community sports

centres that were developed rom the 1970s.Various development projects and programmes 1in the 1980s saw the evolution o standard compactand cost eective designs. Further developmentwork by Sport England led to the Optimum sportshall concept as an economically sustainable o thepeg design package 2 or the new millennium.

Various built examples around the country providean excellent range o benchmarks or welldesigned, eicient and attractive centres that usegood quality materials and achieve a high degreeo customer appeal.

1.0 Introduction

National statistics and trends

It is estimated3 that there are over 4,500 multi-sporthalls in England. This represents approximately2.7million m2 o loor space and the vast majority(83%) are small halls with 3-4 badminton courts.Almost hal o the halls are operated on a pay andplay basis (44%), whilst the remainder are splitbetween membership / club and private use.

Nearly all sports halls in England were built in thesecond hal o the twentieth century with one thirdbeing built since 1996 and hal since 1986.

During the period 1940s 1960s almost all newsports hall were built by the education sector. Inthe 1970s, Local Authority reorganisation triggereda signiicant increase o provision with a peak o453 new sports halls being built between 1971 and1975. From the mid 80s the number o localauthority sports halls declined whilst the numbero education sports halls increased up until the mid1990s. Since then this trend has been reversedwith an increase in the number o Local Authorityhalls and a decline in education owned hallsdespite the Building Schools or the Future (BSF)programme being an important contributor.

There has been a steady trend or the educationsector to outsource the management o their sportshalls as shown by the distribution diagram below:

Current challenges

With the potential or many secondary schools to

have their physical education (PE) and sportsprovision updated, it is important to ullyunderstand the value that lexible multi-sportindoor sports halls can oer. Stakeholders shouldbe challenged to consider the uture o teaching,learning and community participation and help toinspire uture acility development 4.

This should include strategic planning or school andcommunity sports acilities, and appropriate designspeciication or buildings and outside areas.

The investment in PE and school sport has neverbeen so good; yet many o the various capital andrevenue programmes supporting their

development are developed in isolation.

There are signiicant variations and imbalances inthe provision o sports halls within England and theextent that they meet local needs. For example,London, that has some 12.5% o the population oEngland, has 4% ewer sport halls than theaverage or the rest o the country.

SeeActive Places data base or the situation in aparticular location.

http://www.activeplaces.com/1

Technical Unit or Sport Development Project at Tamworthollowed by the Sport England Standard Approach to SportsHalls (SASH) design and building programme.

2 Later updated to the Optimum Package.3

Active Places Data (January 2011) halls with 3 or morebadminton courts.

England: Sports halls by management provider

Well designed SPORTSHALLS can accommodatean extensive range oschool PE and sportsactivities that can benetthe whole community.

4For the key design issues in designing or sport on school sites:

http://www.partnershipsorschools.org.uk/documents/library/

BSF-archive/PS_Factsheet_DesignGuidance_PESport.pd


5/54



Acoustic dividing screen integrated into the design

International This category relates to the lowest

level o International play 7.

Premier This category relates to a Premier /National League Club competing in

regional or inter county competitions.

Club This category relates to a localclub competing in District andCounty League competitions.

Community This category relates to school andcommunity use where there is noormal competitive structure / nospeciic need or space or oicialsor spectator accommodation.

6See Appendix 4 o Sport England publication Developingthe Right Sports Hall or more inormation.

7For higher levels o international competition, such as majorchampionships, the relevant NGB should be consulted at avery early stage as the requirements vary considerably.

Levels o play

The space requirements in sports halls should relateto the level o play categories or the particularactivities. Generally, the higher the level o play, themore space that is required or the saety zones andother margins around the playing area. For manycompetition events, an extra zone is also requiredor team benches and oicials tables. An additionalsecurity zone between teams and spectators mayalso be required or major events. Adding thesemargins around the playing area produces thecritical overall space i.e. the minimum sae areaor a particular level o play.

For some sports such as Badminton 5, Volleyball

and trampoline the clear internal height above thecourt to any downward projection such as lightittings, roo mounted equipment and tracking ornetting is also important.

Levels o play can be generally categorised asInternational, Premier, Club and Community 6 andan overview o what can be accommodated invarious sizes o hall is shown on page 6.

See separate SportEngland publications:

Developing the RightSports Hall

Comparative Sizes oSports Pitches and Courts.

5See Sport England design guidance note Badminton.

Adjustments o space requirements

Adjustments to the nominal sizes o sports hallsmay also be required or a number o business andprograming reasons. In addition, there may be arange o technical issues in the detailed design andconstruction processes. These might include:

Space or division nets / screens / barriers

Space or addional viewing / spectators /oicials

Adjustment in position o court line marking toavoid conlicts

Structural grid requirements

Mechanical and electrical installations

The support o ixed sports equipment onthe walls and roo

Location o light ittings in relationship to thecourt markings.

Early consideration o such actors will help toensure a well integrated design solution and help

to avoid compromise to the minimum saetyrequirements and the successul operation o thesports hall.

However, it should be noted that other categoriesand terms are used by a number o SportsGoverning Bodies and sports promoters or

particular events and programmes. For example:Top divisions

Local league

Lower divisions

Sports Governing Bodies also have their ownspeciications and classiication system or sportacilities.


6/54



8In the past, Building Bulletin 98 reerred to a minimum size

o 18 x 33 x 7.6m. This size is now considered by SportEngland and the NGBs to be unsuitable as it does not allowthe recommended court sizes and limits teaching / coachingand lexibility o use.

Modular approach to hall sizes

Badminton is oten the sport which has the mostinluence over the design o sports halls. It isrequently a popular activity and has a convenientspace requirement or adopting a modularapproach to the sizing o halls. It can also inluencea number o building elements such as the roostructure, lighting, background colours and airvelocities. These issues are discussed in moredetail in Sections 5 and 6.

A single badminton court space is regarded as thesmallest practical multi-sport space. See SportEngland design guidance note Community andVillage Halls.

The number o Badminton courtsis used as an easy reerence orthe size o a sports hall.

(i.e. 4 or 12 court hall)See table on page 7 or nominalhall sizes and the range o sportsthat can be accommodated.

Two or three badminton court halls are also seen

as valuable acilities, but a our court conigurationis required or many sports that need to be playedalong the length o the space. However additionallength and width is likely to be required to obtainthe best value or money.

For school projects aminimum size o 34.5 x 20.0x 7.5 m is recommended8.

Speciications or multi-sport halls

A hall based on a 4 badminton court module canbe successully designed to accommodate arange o sports, but careul attention should begiven to the proposed level o play category oreach sport, the critical dimensions or the principalplaying area and run o spaces and the choiceo sports loor.

The Sport England publication Developing theRight Sports Hall sets out a 7 step process thatincludes decisions about establishing which sportsare considered as priority and secondary withina hall. In multi-sports projects, the individual spatialrequirements o sports such as netball, handball,hockey and korball that exceed the minimumrequirements or 4 badminton courts are critical -extra space will be required both on the width andthe length.

This has led to the updated 4 court hall modulewith nominal dimensions o 34.5 x 20.0 x 7.5 mand a larger 5 court hall module with nominaldimensions o 40.6 x 21.35 x 7.5 m being theminimum sizes or multi-sport projects, dependingon the range o sports to be accommodated. Seethe table on page 7 or the sports, level o playcategories and court numbers that can beaccommodated within a range o typical nominalhall sizes based on these modules.


7/54



Acoustic dividing screen at the centre point o a 6-court hall on a school site allows the space to be divided into two teaching spaces

The updated sizes or the4 and 5 badminton courtmodules give advantagesor the individual sportswhich include:

Volleyball

2 training courts that can be separatedby netting

Space on side or oicials tables orcentral court

Basketball

Space or saety zones to NGBsstandards

Space on side or oicials tables

Netball

Space or increased size o court andsaety zones (but still less than NGB

recommendation unless the width isincreased to 21.35 m)

Handball

Additional length or court (1m short)*

Cricket

Additional length or bowlers run upend

Others

Added general lexibility or teachingnets.

See pages 38 - 41 or details.

*i Handball is a priority then additional lengthwould be recommended.

Modular sports hall approach

0m

0m

0m

0m

0m

18m

18m

34.5m

40.0m20.0m 60.0m

42.7m 64.05m21.35m

51.75m0m

0m

17m

40.6m

27m

34.5m

The 4 and 5 court hallsprovide additional spaceor teaching school PE

and coaching

(particularly when the hall is

sub-divided into two sections).


8/54



Overview o numbers o courts* / levels o play or nominal hall sizes

Sport andlevel o play category** 4

Co

urthall

(34.5

x20.0x

7.5m

)

5Co

urthall

(40.6

x21.3

5

x7.5

m)

8Co

urthall

(40.0

x34.5x

8.3m

)

10C

ourthall

(40.6

x42.7x

9.0m

)

12C

ourthall

(60.0

x34.5x

9.0m

)

15C

ourthall

(64.0

5x40.6

x9.0

m)

Badminton(with 1 dividing net per 4 or 5 court module)

International 1 42+3 42 82 8 12 12 1 Excludes ocials zone.2 Requires a clear height o 9.0 m.3 It is assumed that division nets are excluded.

Premier 1 42 52 82 10 12 15

Club 1 4 5 8 10 12 15

Community 1 4 5 8 10 12 15

BasketballInternational - - 1 1 2 2

Premier - - 1 1 2 2

Club 1 1 2 2 3 3

Community 4 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Excludes team / oicials zone.

Reduced court size 5 2 2 4 4 6 6 5 Excludes team / ocials zone.

Cricket practice / Indoor cricket

Community 6 4 4 8 8 12 126 Includes allowance or a central 3.4 m wide (minimum) clear zone or

basketball goals within each 4 or 5 court module.

GymnasticsInternational - - - O P P

The new hall sizes provide more space or all the gymnasticsdisciplines.

Premier P P 1 1/2P 1/3P 1/3P

Club P 1 1 1/2P 1/3P 1/3P

Community 1 1 2 2 3 3

Five-a-side ootball / FutsalInternational - - P P 1 1

The new hall sizes provide more space or Five-a-side ootball /Futsal.

Premier P P 1 1 3 3

Club 1 1 2 2 3 3


Handball

International - - - 1 1 1

The new hall sizes provide more space or Handball.Premier - 1 1 2 1 3

Club - 1 1 2 1 3


Indoor hockey

International - - - 1 1 1

The new hall sizes provide more space or Indoor Hockey.Premier - P P 1 1 1

Club - P P 1 1 1

Community 1 Unihoc 1 Unihoc 1 Unihoc 2 1 2

KorballInternational - - - - 1 1

The new hall sizes provide more space or Korball.Premier - - 1 1 1 2

Club - - 1 1 1 2


Netball

International 7 / 8 0 0 1 1 1 1

7A practice area will be required close to the international competition court.8For International and Super League consult with England Netballon space required or tv equipment and anticipated club specicspectator requirements.

Premier 0 19 1 29 1 310

9The hall / module width needs to be increased to 23.35 m to allow ora 2.0 m wide team / ocials zone which cannot be accommodated inthe standard size hall.

10Excludes team / ocials zone which must be accommodated

by increasing the hall size and/or by sharing team/ocial zonesbetween multiple courts.11Where netball is not the primary sport, by agreement, England Netball

will allow club netball to be played in this size hall, with reduced run-os and no team and ocial zones.

Club 111 19 210 29 311 310


Sports hall athletics

International - - - P 1P 1P

The new hall sizes provide more space or all the athleticsdisciplines.

Premier P P 2P 2P 3P 3P

Club P P 2P 2P 3P 3P

Community P P 2P 2P 3P 3P

Volleyball

International 0 0 1 1 2 2

Premier 1 1 2 2 3 3

Club 1 1 2 2 3 3

Community 4 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Excludes team / oicials zone.

Training courts 4 2P 2P 4P 4P 6P 6P 4 Excludes team / oicials zone.

General notes:

Unless noted otherwise all sizes include or team / oicialszones but DO NOT include or any spectator provision.

The number o courts noted or each hall size does not take intoaccount the additional option o inclusion o Show Court overlays.

Indicative court numbers are an update of the previous revision and should be checked against the space requirements for the individual sports to be accommodated.

See Appendix 4 of Developing the Right Sports Hall for guidance on the level of play category for each sport.

P = Below space standard for competition play recommended by the governing body, but suitable for practice and training.

******


9/54



Decisions on the size othe sports hall and support

accommodation should bebased on:

All sports hall projects shoulduse the 7 step process to

develop the project brie.

Range o sports and local need

The local need or each sports hall project, or bothnew and reurbishment schemes, may varyconsiderably and needs to be established beoreany designs are developed. Sport England and theNGBs have worked together to produce a standardmethodology or all sports hall projects to enablea clear vision and project brie to be established.Detailed guidance on the methodology and whocan help is available in Sport Englands publicationDeveloping the Right Sports Hall. A summary othe 7 steps in the methodology is set out below.

Most popular sports hall activities taken rom a Surveyo Sports Halls and Swimming Pools in England - SportEngland (1999)

Other activities that can be accommodated insports halls include:

Archery

Boxing

Children play

Dodgeball

Fencing

Handball

Indoor gol

Korball

Roller hockey

Tchoukball.

Activity Hall visits (%)

Badminton 24.4

Keep it / aerobics / step / yoga 23.6

Indoor ive-a-side ootball / Futsal 18.3

Martial arts 6.3

Carpet / mat / short bowls 6.1

Gymnastics 3.6

Basketball 2.3

Netball 2.1

Table tennis 1.9

Dance 1.8

Trampolining 1.8

Indoor hockey 1.6

Tennis / short tennis 1.5

Roller skating / roller blading 1.2

Indoor cricket 1.0

Multi-sports session 0.7

Racquetball 0.6

Volleyball 0.6

Others 0.6

1

4

6

2

5

7

3

SUPPLY AND DEMAND ISSUES

HOW MUCH USE

THE BUSINESS CASE

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

DEVELOPING THE PROJECT BRIEF

THE DECISION

TYPE OF ACTIVITY / LEVEL OF PLAYCATEGORY


10/54



Imaginative design can invite attention and ocus to thebuilding entrance

Quality

Sports halls are open or long hours, seven days aweek and take heavy wear as a result. It is thereoreimportant to design durable and high qualitybuildings with good, attractive and easilymaintained inishes.

For overall participation igures see Active People

Survey download (or Sport By Sport Fact Sheet)available rom the Sport England website.

With careul management and use o division curtains anumber o activities can be programmed simultaneously


11/54



2.0 Site selection and planning

Active design objectives

Plans or the location o new sports halls shouldconsider the objectives set out in the SportEngland publication Active Design 9. It containsguidance and inormation on how sport andopportunities or people to be physically active canbe integrated into planning and developmentprojects. The range o physical and managementmeasures to promote active design objectivesinclude:

Improved accessibility

Enhanced amenity

Increased awareness.

Key issues in the site selection process will include:

The opportunities or co-location with othercommunity ocus points in order to share carparking, access and reception acilities

The prioritisation o pedestrian, cycle andpublic transport routes

The prominence o the location and

opportunities or visual communication /signage to encourage use o the acility.

9 See Sport England publication Active Design.

Location:

The shape and contours o the available site willobviously inluence the siting o the sports hall andany important ancillary acilities, such as artiicialgrass pitches (AGP) or a group o tennis courts.However, in most instances the proximity o anexisting access road and/or the necessary mainservices will be the main actor aecting itslocation, i unnecessary and expensive sitedevelopment costs are to be avoided. It is essentialthat the site provides:

Suicient space or the proposed acility aswell as space or uture expansion

Adequate car parking provision, including thepotential or overspill parking

Access or service and emergency vehicles.

External planning

Provision should be made or:

Car and coach parking closely related to themain entrance

Disabled parking bays with ramped curbs

Drop o point adjacent to the entrance

Appropriate bench seating along pathways.

The entrance should be easy to access, eel sae to all users and be an attractive part o the public realm


12/54



Access and adequate turning provision orservice vehicles

Secure cycle standing located within sight othe oice or reception

Ramps, i there are changes in ground level,and additional handrailing

Well-lit car parks and ootpaths or sae accessater dark

Pedestrian routes planned away rom areas opotential concealment.

The location o the building on the site shouldallow space or uture expansion when the

opportunity exists. The popularity o speciicsports and the need or social accommodationmay change over the lie o the building and pastexperience shows that sports dimensional andsaety requirements can increase along with userexpectations or better equipped and morecomortable support accommodation.

A planting scheme can assist in linking the sportshall building to its surroundings and particularly inurban projects can help to create a morewelcoming entrance. Suitably selected shrubplanting will provide a barrier to the building aceand help to deter vandalism and give more privacy

to glazed accommodation. All new planting willneed initial barrier protection.

See Sport England design guidance note CarParking and Landscape Design.

Key design eatures:

Clearly identiied entrance

Well articulated structure

Prominent signage

Crisp detailing

High quality roo and wallcladding.

External appearance

Sports halls oten use industrial buildingcomponents and, unless careully designed, can alltoo easily look just like another actory orwarehouse, an impression that should be avoided.

By necessity they are large buildings with ewwindows and require considerable skill in theselection o materials, use o colour and thegeneral design so that they look attractive andinviting by day and night.

In some locations such as on existing school andcollege sites, it may be appropriate to use brickcladding, but this can oten lead to a heavy andoppressive character.


13/54



Set down point

N

School Entrance

CommunityEntrance

Potential futureexpansion

Main entrance givenvisual emphasis andprotection by canopy

Well lit car parkwith simple

vehicle circulation Coachparking

Seat

Bicycles

Assistance dog

rest areaSeat

Articial Pitch

Exit for use at

peak times

Bus stop

Bus stop

Pedestraincrossing

Optimum / block plan

Prominentlypositioned sign

indicating name

of centre,

facilities provided

and other

information

Main entrance

visible from main

road / site

boundary

Low planting

allowing car

parking to be

clearly visible

Clear direct

pedestrian

footpaths with

clearly dened

cross-over

points wherevehicle and

pedestrian

routes intersect

roadMain

Exit for use at

peak times

Notional site layout


14/54



3.0 Scale o acility

The scale o the acility and supportaccommodation will depend upon the size o thesports hall and the extent o other activities to beincluded as part o the acility. For instance sportshalls may be combined with swimming pools, icerinks, etc. as part o a larger sports and leisureacility.

Each project will have its own requirements, butevery reestanding sports hall should have:

Foyer and reception

Rereshment area

Changing and toilet accommodation

Facilities or disabled people

Oice accommodation

Integral equipment storage

Hall viewing with seating

Provision or irst aid

Plant room

Cleaners store.

This is oten expanded to include the ollowingmodel range o accommodation whichcomplements sports halls o all sizes:

Crche 10

Pram store

Club meeting room

Fitness and exercise studio/areas

Multi-purpose secondary hall

Staroom

Physiotherapy treatment room

Licensed lounge

All-weather external playing area.

Sports halls should be planned to provide:

A simple, economical and spacious circulationsystem that is clearly intelligible to the userand permits easy supervision

The elimination o long, narrow corridors thatmight conuse visitors and impart aninstitutional image

Sae and secure access achieved by designand not by reliance on a closed circuittelevision system (CCTV).

The circulation pattern should enorce a sequentialprogression through the building:

The entrance oyer and reception

Linked to a social rereshment area

Leading on to changing and toilets

Leading to activity spaces.

The need to backtrack should be avoided exceptwhere a conscious decision has been made torearrange accommodation or a speciic purpose,such as grouping glazed activity space around thesocial hub o a centre to allow spectator viewing.

Servicing and plant room access should be remoterom the main entrance or arranged on an adjoiningelevation with an internal service route direct tokitchen store or bar cellar or into anyaccommodation that needs to be provisioned orsocial unctions. Plant rooms should be located asclose as possible to the most heavily servicedspaces, usually the changing rooms or the deepend o a pool in a wet and dry centre. First aidrooms must have direct or easy access to thebuilding exterior and an ambulance bay should beprovided, remote rom the main entrance.

10 Crches national standards or under 8s day care andchildminding, Surestart DE and DWP.


15/54



Note: All dimensions are in millimetres

Main and learner pools, an eight court hall andother accommodation planned off a mezzanine

circulation spine

Block plans illustrating different scales and mixesof accommodation

Six court hall with fitnessand dance studios

Four court hallwithminimumancillaryaccommodation

Minimum corridor width of

1500 in non-sportschair areas

In Sportschair areas maintain

a minimum preferred clear width

of 2500 to allow two sports

chairs to pass

Doors that need to swing

out into main corridors

should be 'protected' by

being set into a recess

2500

2500

2500

1500

1500

Splayed walls at changes

in direction will benet

wheelchair users and

visually impaired people

Minimum 870 effective clear width

Minimum 1200 effective clear width

1500 turning circle

to be maintained

throughout the facility

B

B

C

B

C

Where space is tight the circulation

can be reduced to 2000 with 2500

passing places at max 5m apart

Key Dimensions

A

Radiator, hose reels and

so on set into recesses to

maintain corridor width

Doors across corridors must have viewing panels

Where double doors of unequal wid th are used,

the wider doors should all be on the same side of the

corridor and meet the minimum clear wid th requirement

A2000

5000 max 2500

Where the unobstructed width of a corridor is less than1.8m, they must have passing places at least 1.8m long

and with an unobstructed width of at least 1.8m to

allow wheelchair users to pass each other

Internal circulation diagram

25 m pool, our court hall with social areas andsecondary sports space on two levels

All levels must be capable o beingaccessed by users with disabilitiesvia a lit as even the smallest sportshall with a minimum amount osupport accommodation will havea loor area o at least 700m2.Larger centres will require 2 lits.

Sports wheelchairs require widerdoors, careul consideration isneeded during the design stage toallow sports chairs to access allappropriate areas o the building,including changing rooms, toiletsand social areas.

See Sport England design guidance

note Accessible Sports Facilities.


16/54



A 34.5 x 20.0 m sports hall with a typical range o accommodation. Alternatively, the club-meeting room space could bedeveloped as a crche, sot play or exercise studio

Sports hall

Plant

7.5mm

inclearheight

Store

Changing

Natural lighting to

ancillary areas

Equipment

store

Sports hall

School

Community

34.5 x 20m

Changing for 30

Changing for16

Changing for16

Changing for 30

StoreStCl

Mat

Sports

chair store

store

S

taffroom

(&FirstAid) Plant

FoyerClub/meeting

room

Store OfceOfce

Fitness

Store

0 10m5

(& First Aid)

See pages 38-39 for arange of court layouts


17/54



4.0 Hall and centre planning

Main entrance

The design o the entrance should be warm andwelcoming. The entrance oyer is the hub o thebuilding and should have suicient space andvolume or people to circulate, view notices or waitor riends in comortable surroundings. Design toprovide:

Views towards the sport hall and other mainelements o the building

Convenient and secure store or pushchairsoverlooked rom reception

Draught lobby to the main entrance doors

Automatic operation o the main doors whichis particularly helpul to wheelchair users andpeople with young children

Space or the inclusion o security barriers.

The management strategy will dictate oyerplanning. Options or oyer design include:

reception close to the point o entry withsuicient space or queuing

an inormal hotel type arrangement.

The irst has the advantage o close control overthose entering the centre, the second provides ora more relaxed and welcoming style o operation.In either case the oyer and its associated spaces,

which can include seating, viewing andrereshment areas, should be designed to be asopen and transparent as possible. Natural lighting,most probably rom a roo source, will help createa pleasant atmosphere. The volume o the entranceis important in creating a comortable arrivalspace. A higher ceiling can also help relate to thelarger volume o the sports hall.

In dual-use centres it is preerable to separate themain community entrance rom the schoolentrance, so that one is approached directly romthe main car park, and the other directly rom theschool premises. This can reduce excessive usageo the entrance and social areas and minimisewear and tear on speciied inishes.

Reception and oice accommodation

The reception desk should:

Be prominently sited

Be o an open design with a dropped level orwheelchair users and children, but with

sensitively designed security eatures asappropriate

Incorporate storage or lost property and itemsor sale or hire

Make provision or the monitoring o ire andsecurity systems

Allow or the integration o CCTV, PA and otheressential equipment (retroitting such equipmentwhen space is tight can be diicult).

Only in dual-use schemes where club programming

predominates is it appropriate or the openreception counter to be replaced with a glazedscreen and counter to the sta oice.

Dual use projects can haveimplications or the overallbuilding specication.

Check requirements or:

Heating and ventilation strategy

Escape routes

Examination requirements

Acoustics

Public entertainment.


18/54



Reception and social areasshould be designed orlexibility to allow or dierent

management styles andchanging local circumstances.

The reception desk and oice accommodationshould be closely linked. An island receptioncounter may be used or larger centres to controlsports hall, pool, ice rink or spectator access.Isolated reception counters should be providedwith an integral secure cash oice.

Whenever possible oices should be located onan external wall or day lighting and views over the

approach to the building.

A small school / community sports hall might havea minimum administration area consisting o anoice or one person with some storage.

Generally, a our-court hall would have a managersoice with meeting space and a general oice,unless some administrative unctions take placeo-site.

Larger centres may include a separate cateringmanagers oice, other specialist accommodationsuch as a rest room and male and emale stachanging.

Open reception desk with lower height sections orwheelchair users and children

Reception area and ofce accommodation

ColumnSaeguard lowheadroom

Lit

Dened space or waiting

and manoeuvring in ronto lit 1500 x 1500mmminimum

Recess eatures suchas vending machinesand radiators

Telephone recesslocated away romnoisy areas

Logicalunobstructedroutes; clearsignage

Low counter reception adequate space in rontand behind with inductionloop or sta and visitors

Flush and rm mattingto entire lobby

Lighting levelsin lobby providea transitionbetween insideand outside

Brackets or columns tocanopies or lights kept

clear o circulation routes

Obvious entrance withclear views in helps

orientation

Seating areas shouldincorporate loose seats

with armrests

Waiting area well litwith a quietenvironment balancebetween acousticallyhard and sot areas

Seating area withindened area andlocated o the main

circulation route toavoid visually impairedpeople colliding withurniture. In additionprovide integratedspaces or wheelchairusers

Where they areunavoidable, obstaclesshould be highlightedusing colour and lightingto assist way nding andto minimise the risk oaccidental collision

Protect door swings

Locate visual and tactileinormation in obvious

and convenient positions

Consider assistancedog rest area


19/54



Social and viewing areas

Where possible sports halls should be capable obeing viewed rom social accommodation andevery hall with public use, including those onschool sites, should have some social andrereshment accommodation. The simplest answeris to extend the oyer to include a seating areaoverlooking the hall through saety glazing ittedwith blinds or a curtain to avoid distractingbadminton players or other user groups. Two orthree vending machines with adjacent storage areoten suicient or small halls but an alternative isto extend the reception counter or sta to servedrinks and snacks.

I a cae area is included it should be:

Located in or close to the entrance oyer toenhance the welcoming ambience and toenable the centre to beneit rom customersecondary spend

Designed to ensure that standards o decormatch successul high street equivalents.

In large centres social and viewing areas can begrouped together and may include:

A bar and lounge

Viewing into the hall and other areas.

Where it is not possible to accommodate theseacilities at ground loor level, the social areasshould be visible rom the oyer and linked to itwith a prominent staircase set in a generous well.It is important that this relationship is emphasisedand that the social content is not tucked away ina remote corner o the building. Supportaccommodation will include:

Storage and servery areas serviced rom anearby vehicle delivery point

Proper reuse storage and containment withdirect access

I there is a licensed area separate cellaragewill be needed and a physical orm osegregation may be required.

Viewing o sports halls and other activity areasprovides added interest to the social content andassists in breaking down the cellular characteristicscommon to many older sports buildings. Thesebeneits have to be reconciled with the privacyneeds o some occupants so open galleries shouldbe capable o being shut o and glazed screensmust be itted with curtains or blinds.

Viewing o sports halls andother activity areas providesadded interest and shouldbe designed to benet allusers - see AccessibleSports Facilities design

guidance note.

Check with operators thatthere is adequate spaceor vending machines (anduture expansion).

Views rom entrance / reception o climbing wall andother sports activity spaces beyond

A well urnished and suitably equipped rereshmentsarea: an attractive image or the leisure environment


20/54



Spectator seating / viewing

In larger halls, bleacher seating can be integratedinto the wall and linked up to a irst loor accessroute. In smaller halls smaller temporary seatingunits may be kept in the sports hall store. In allcases, the space requirements need to be

considered in relationship to the court markings.

single sex activities such as keep it oraerobics

For small itness equipment rooms changingspaces are oten provided or each item oequipment (based on 5 m2 o loor area) but orlarger acilities this can be discounted by25-30%

Aerobics studios and other ancillary hallsrequire one space per 5-10 m2 and anallowance or overlap11

Squash courts require our spaces per court

The need to accommodate varying ratios o

males/emales with buer or individualchanging units as required

Changing areas need to be ully accessible ordisabled users

Ideally, provide a proportion o cubicles ormale and emale customers who may preerprivacy

Have entrances that screen o views romcirculation areas eg. privacy screening orlobbies.

The design should allow a minimum o 1.6 m2 per

person with a 0.5 m bench run or an accessibleopen group changing area and shower areas.More space will be required where cubicles areprovided or where dedicated disabled provision isincorporated in the general area.

See Sport England design guidance noteAccessible Sports Facilities.

I there is enough capacity the internal changingcan also serve external pitches with an artiicialplaying surace, subject to a suitable access routewith hard paving and entrance matting. However,grass pitches must have separate provision with

direct access to and rom the ield and bootcleaning acilities.

See Sport England design guidance note Pavilionsand Clubhouses.

Management eedbackshows that split school andcommunity changing workswell, subject to supervision

and programming.

Changing capacity

Changing capacity should be provided to copewith the normal maximum occupancy level andpattern o use. Calculations should take intoaccount:

The number o badminton courts (4 players) x2 or changeover. This number can be

exceeded where there is school use and aneed to provide or two or more classes. Extrachanging spaces will also be required or

Bleacher seating integrated into the side wall and accessgallery above

11See Sport England design guidance note Fitness andExercise Studios.

Screen panels itted to irst loor viewing to give privacy


21/54



Clothes storage lockers

The decision on the location o lockers is otendependant on the local situation and user proile.Lockers in the main corridor can be easilysupervised by sta and might help to deter

vandalism, whilst lockers in the changing room aremore convenient or users. In many centres amixture o both are provided.

Allow 2.5 times the assessed occupancylevels or changing

Locate lockers in changing rooms to oermaximum convenience or users

Typically, manuacturers supply locker unitsthat are 0.5 m deep, 0.3 m wide and arrangedin 1.8 m high columns. These can containeither two individual hal height lockers or a

single ull height locker. There should be aproportion o both to suit the likely use o thecentre. Some should be wider (say 0.4 m x1.8 m) to accommodate larger sports bags,childrens buggies and mobility aids 12.

Behind bench lockers save space but areinconvenient at times o peak use.

Showers

Allow one shower point to every six changingspaces. Provide a separate dry o area andinclude a proportion o cubicle showers 13.

Customer eedback conirmsthat underloor heating is likedor changing areas.

Changing areas

Changing areas oten attract criticism in acilitiesthat would otherwise be well received.

Always use high quality, robust and easilycleaned materials to give an immediate andlasting impression o hygiene and cleanliness

Ceramic tiles need to be used on all wallsuraces in showers and changing rooms, withslip-resistant ceramic tiles on the loors

Whenever possible changing areas should beequipped with high ceilings and roolighting.Note that clerestory windows and suspended

ceilings are vulnerable to vandalism.

Showers

Family/Acc

essiblecubicles/2personchanging

Cubiclesandbenches

Opposedbenchesin'U'plan

layouts:4spacesarelost

Benchandlockers

Note: a 600mm

bench depth is

required for

wheelchair

Chang

ingroomsandshowers:somekeyminimumd

imensions.

1500min

1500min

clear

1500min

clear

1500min

clear

Vanity area with appropri-

ately located fittings to give

access for wheelchair users

1500

Vanityarea

Circulation

Circulation/lockers

Maincirculation

Showerarea

1500 minclear

500

600

450min

500

preferrred

1500 minclear

Door size in accordance with

Table 5 of Accessibile Sports

Facilities DGN

Entrance

A range of locker sizes

must be provided to

accomodate aids

Folding changingbench with curtain

1900 min

1800

775

375folded

By providing a dropdown seat with the

appropriate fixed rails,the main shower areacan be made more accessible. All shower

areas should incorporate these facilities

1000 min

clear (int)

1100min

clear(int)

1500 minclear

1500min

clear

Maincirculation

2000

1500

clear (int)

clear (int)

2000

clear(int)

1500 minclear

1000 min

clear

Privacycurtain

Privacycurtain

transfer

1000 minclear

1100min

clear(int)

Changing rooms and showers: some key minimumdimensions


13 Above the BS 6465-1 recommendations.

12 See Sport England design guidance note AccessibleSports Facilities and approvedwww.inclusiveitness.org


22/54



Hardwood (lightcoloured) or solid

grade laminate

slatted bench.

Wall-supportedheat source,protectedbeneath bench

Cast aluminiumor galvanisedsteel bracket

.

,

Floor channels with bucket gullies and lit-o grilles giveeective drainage in shower and other wet areas. Theyrequire regular cleaning

Strong colours add to a bright and clean appearance

An arrangement o similar capacity incorporating lockable buer rooms orlexibility. Generally, this is the more economical approach in terms o overallloor area and is more easily supervised.

Individual units allocated as required to provide flexibility. Each unit can incorporate toilets i the centres main acilitiesare not adjacent.

Cantilevered benching and wall-hung heating source allow loorsuraces to be easily cleaned


23/54



Shower outlets should be at 0.75 m centreswith 0.45-0.5 m between end ittings and sidewalls. Fittings carried around an internal cornershould be to an increased space standard toallow or wheelchair access.

Showers on opposing walls should be spaced2.5 m apart to permit a central circulation routeand will require a separate dry o area to one end.

See separate guidance note Accessible SportsFacilities or space requirements or showering.

Equipment store

Adequate storage space o suitable proportions,

sited in the correct location, is essential or theeicient operation o multi-sports halls.

A total o 12.5% o the hall loor area is requiredas a minimum or sports equipment. Communityuse school halls and large events halls mayrequire more or urniture and specialised ittings

Locate storage on the long side o our courthalls or, where this cannot be achieved, splitstores into two areas according to the patterno hall use

In larger halls locate storage where it can

eiciently serve subdivided play areas

Stores should have easy access rom the hallwith wide door openings and at least 2.5 m clearheight to allow or storing small trampolines

Up-and-over, sliding, olding and side-hungdoors can be considered but must be detailedto resist impact damage and to be ree romprojections that can injure users upon impact

Wide-lea, side-hung panels usually require asteel rame

A store depth o 5.0 m is preerred or end-onstorage o goals but excessive depth restrictsentry and increases handling diiculty

A separate racked store may be required orroller skate hire. It should be located next tothe sports hall entrance

Provision or loor socket type posts orbadminton / netball / volleyball to be storedvertically (i this type o post system is used).

The location o the equipment store should allow easyaccess to various subdivisions o the hall

Access doors to the store should be wide to allow easyaccess

Mat storage

Mats can be a potential ire risk and considerationshould be given to a separate one-hour ire-ratedenclosure vented to the external air and equippedwith a smoke detection system. Early discussionswith the ire oicer are advisable. Maximum usecan be made o the available space by storing themats on a purpose-made trolley, which can bepulled out or sae and easy access. Mats usuallymeasure 2.0 x 1.0 m.

Shelving and wall xingsshould be considered to help

use the ull volume oequipment storage areas.

Alternative

Store

Store

Store

Alternative

Store

Allow ample space in the equipment store or all theactivities that are likely to occur in the sports hall


24/54



located in wall recesses so as to retain a lushrebound surace.

For larger halls a suitable adjustment should bemade or the additional number o courts and theproposed programme o activities.

Toilet accommodation

Toilets can be planned to share a common accesslobby with changing rooms. This is an economical,proven arrangement that concentrates servicesand aords convenient access to sports, socialand oice areas.

Special events

Extra large external doors will be required oradditional large items o sports equipment, and

mobile seating and so on or competitions andexhibitions. Bleacher old-out seating should beconsidered or halls with six or more courts,

Typical schedule o loose equipment or a our-court hall(dependant on sport priorities or the particular project)

Accessible changing and toilet provision or sports halls

Badminton 4 sets o posts, 4 nets,

2 spare nets

Basketball Scoring equipment

Oicials table / chairs

Team benches

Portable baskets (i no ixed

goals)

Bowls 4 short mat carpets, rolled,

each 1.83 long x up to 0.5 m

diameter

Cricket Roll out mats (to ECB

standards or the particular

sports hall)

Five-a-side 1 pair portable goals with

ootball / anchor points, each

Futsal 3.66 / 4.99 x 1.20 m

Handball 1 pair goals, each 3 x 2 m

Hockey 1 pair goals, each 3 x 2m

Gymnastics * Range o apparatus with

anchorage points andfloor mats

Judo/karate Mats, each 2 x 1m (ull 14 x 14 m

matted area with an 8 x 8 m

combat area requires 98 mats)

Netball 1 pair adjustable posts, each

3.05 m high

Table tennis 6 tables, olded, each 1.855 x

1.830 x 0.65 m, nets and

supports

Team benches 2

Trampoline * 2 olding trampolines, each

4.60 / 5.20 m x 2.75 / 3.05 m x

2.25 / 2.00 m high when olded

Volleyball Posts*and nets / oicials table /chairs

4-6courthall

8-12courthall

Accessible changing provision

Unisex accessible changing room with WC 2 2*

In addition, provide an accessible changingcubicle within the main changing area

m l

Changing room large enough or wheelchair teams l l

In addition, provide a unisex Changing Placeschanging room

m l

Accessible toilet provision

Dedicated unisex Accessible WC compartmenton each loor (in addition to any provision withinunisex accessible changing above)*

2 2*

Provide a minimum o one cubicle each withinthe general male and emale toilets suitable

or an ambulant disabled person

l l

In addition, provide an accessible WCcompartment located within the Sports ChairZone to serve people using large sports chairs

m m

Changing Places provision: include as indicatedunder Accessible Changing Provision above

Key: lRequired mRecommendedNotes:

See Accessible Sports Facilities or details o the layoutsor the above acilities.

* The above igures are the minimum and should beincreased i necessary to relect the anticipated amount ouse and the relationship to the individual acilities. Unisex

accessible changing acilites must be located whereverthere is general changing provision.

The total toilet provision should be calculated onthe likely maximum occupancy o the building inaccordance with BS 6465-1: 2006.

Notes:

* Floor socket required

Male:

Female:

One WC, one washbasin,

one urinal per 15-20 usersOne WC per 7-10 users,

one washbasin per 15 users.


25/54



As a minimum there should be at least one unisexaccessible toilet at locations where there is publictoilet provision. See BS 8300. It is unreasonableto expect disabled users to travel urther thanother members o the public. Where single sexchanging acilities are provided, an additionalunisex accessible toilet easily accessed rom themain circulation area should be provided, therebyenabling a disabled user to be assisted by peopleo either sex. Additionally, disabled users needscan be met within the general changing areas byprovision o:

Open bench changing or double sized cubicles

Showers itted with old down seats.

See Sport England design guidance noteAccessible Sports Facilities.

Cleaners store

Even in a small hall separate provision or thestorage o cleaning equipment and materials must

be made. Locate the store close to the changingaccommodation and include a Belast sink.

Sta acilities

BS 6465 recommends separate sta acilities orschool situations. The Workplace (health, saetyand welare) regulations 1992 require that thereshould be a suitable seating area or use duringbreaks. It needs to be clean and located whereood cannot get contaminated.

Larger centres require more dispersedaccommodation which can include separate

toilets or sta.

Stretcher trolley/couch

Full height

Equipment

cupboard

Direct access to

emergency vehicle

1100 clear min

Chair

600 clear access zonearound trolley/ bed

Accessible toilet

2200 x 1500 min

Wheelchair turning

zone 1500 min

1000 min Fridge

Sink, drainer, base

unit and locakble

wall cupboards

Chair

Desk & Phone

EasyChair

First aid or a medium sized centre. Small centres canincorporate irst aid within a sta area subject tosuicient space being available


Independent panelling systems protect pipework and simpliysurace cleaning

First aid / physiotherapy room

The most basic provision is shared use with anoice or sta restroom containing a sink orwashbasin , a secure irst aid cabinet and accessor a stretcher. A clear space o 2.0 x 1.6 m isrecommended as a minimum. A supply o drinking

water should be available and there should be anadjacent WC compartment with a hand basin.

Based on the provision or school table 7 in BS 6465-1:2006

Where a dedicated irst aid room is to be provided,an increase in dimensions may accommodate aphysio treatment room, and/or a drug testingacility.


26/54



Larger centres might devote considerably morespace to itness training, oten combined with anexercise studio, integral oice / reception, cubiclechanging, sauna, spa pool and lounge. Separateguidance notes deal with these subjects in moredetail.

See Sport England Fitness and Exercise Spacesdesign guidance note.

Fitness rooms beneit enormously rom havingwindows or roo-lights but or ground loorlocations it is advisable to provide externalscreening or privacy. These spaces also beneitrom increased volume. Mechanical ventilation orair-conditioning is always required. Glazed panels

to social or circulation space help to open up andpromote these activities but all glazing, externaland internal, must be itted with blinds or curtains.

Ancillary halls

Ancillary halls can range upwards rom a size o10.0 x 10.0 x 3.5 m high or a range o physical andsocial activities. These may be o lowerspeciication than the main hall, and be suitableor activities such as training, practice, exhibitionsand wet weather social events that require lessheight than the main sports hall. The potential orsocial use will be enhanced by ease o servicing

which can result in adjoining catering or bar space.Equipment storage should be a minimum o 10%o the hall area.

Dance and exercise studios all within this categorywith minimum recommended dimensions o 15.0x 12.0-15.0 x 4.5 m high. Windows should be athigh level and admit only north light. Flexible useo space can be achieved by including two or moresquash courts with sliding division walls.

Fitness equipment room should be bright and attractive.The internal design can oten be enhanced with the use onatural lighting and careully considered external views.

Secondary areas

Valuablecomplementaryacilities include:

Ancillary halls

Dance

Exercise

Martial Arts

Social

Fitness equipment areas

Fitness equipment room

A itness equipment area can be a valuablecomplementary space to a sports hall. It allows arange o general itness and conditioning activitiesto take place on a more casual basis than the mainsports activities that are usual on a programmedbasis or the sports hall. It allows users to increasetheir own personal strength and itness and toobtain increased attainment in their chosen sport.

The minimum practical loor area is 25.0 m2 and80.0-100.0 m2 is the norm or small sports centres,with a preerred ceiling height o 3.5-4.0 m.

Secondary halls have similar looring requirements tomain halls and beneit rom increased height. Naturallighting contributes to the success o these spaces butmust be able to be blacked out.


27/54



5.0 Detailed design o the sports hall

General design

The hall is a unctional space with stipulated courtand saety margin dimensions and withunobstructed clear height requirements.

Suraces should be lush and o consistentcolour. Applied design eatures should beavoided. A successul interior should rely on acareul selection o materials, colours andlighting.

Natural lighting invariably contributes to thehalls ambience but a suitable system will be

expensive and diicult to reconcile with sportslighting requirements, particularly those obadminton. See Section 6 or more details.

Access to and rom the Sports Hall

The number, width, height and location o accessdoors to the sports hall will depend on the overallbuilding layout, the ire strategy, proposals or thedelivery o large equipment, and the requiredevacuation time. Sports hall access doors shouldopen outwards to avoid creating a hazard to theusers within. Additional doors may be required togive direct access to sections o the hall that can

be divided into separate sections.

Structure

Columns and beams should be laid out so thatthey run between the badminton courts inorder to avoid conlict with the overhead lightittings and the hanging o division netting.See recommendations or badmintonand the Sport England design guidance noteBadminton.

Columns can be wholly or partly withinexternal walls or outside the building envelope.

They should never project into the hall.

Additional structure may be required tosupport speciic items o ixed equipmentsuch as basket ball goals.

Purlins should be avoided when possible inavour o a structural deck spanning betweenthe main beams. When Z-purlins are used theymust be painted white to blend with the roodecking.

Sports loor

A specialist sports loor is the critical element inproviding a comortable and sae place in which toplay sport. Halls may also be used or some non

sports purposes but the primary unction o saetyrequirements should not be compromised.

A range o materials can provide good multi-sportsloors including various timbers such as beech,maple or oak, either solid or veneer, and variouscomposition and synthetic materials. Key requiredeatures can be summarised as ollows:

The sports loor should conorm with theappropriate perormance standards or thepriority range o sports to be accommodated(or example an area elastic loor complyingwith BSEN 14904 or a speciic NationalGoverning Body standard).

The structural loading must accommodatespecial eatures such as bleacher seating orroller skating.

The positions o ixed and portable sportsequipment and their loor sockets should beintegrated into the design.

The loor colour should be considered in orderto create an integrated design with wallrelectance and lighting scheme. (The wallsshould have a 40-50% light relectance).

Mats should be provided or sports that cannot

be accommodated on the chosen sports loor(Note that cricket mats can only be eectiveor speciic loors. See ECB perormancespeciication).

Court marking lines are painted on most sportsloors. PVC tape is not usually used, except ortemporary courts, whilst inlaid lines are an option or

Recommended court marking line colours & widths

Sport Line colour Width

Hockey Blue or Other 50mm

Netball Red 50mm

Volleyball Green or Other 50mm

Five-a-side ootball Other 80mm

Basketball Black 50mm

Tennis Yellow 50mm

Badminton/

Short TennisWhite 40mm


28/54



Tracking to run beneath

structure and other xtures

Lighting to BSEN

12193: 2007

Space for air ducts - heating

ducts to be away from netting

Space for

basketball ttings.

Basketball net inlowered postition

Note:

Alternative volleyball post

socket ttings with

reduced depth requirements

are provided by somemanufacturers for retrotting

or situations where thickening

of the slab is not feasible.

Cricket net bags above

5-a-side line

Thickening of

oor slab at

socket locations

Cleats forspotting rig

above 2m

2000

1200

Clear height

(7.5m - 9.0m) to

lowest projection

in roof

Heating and

lighting above

track for netting

3050

Sports oor to

BSEN 14904:2006

Avoid

servicing

in oor

Volleyball Post

Socket

Typical coordination issues

A combined elastic floor, walls o the right reflectance value and compact fluorescent lights between badminton courtsprovide an excellent sports hall environment.

a limited number o sports loor products. Mostsports require white lines or major competitionsalthough yellow is used or handball and sometimeshockey and basketball. For multi-sports halls a

range o colours is required to avoid conusion.

See Sport England design guidance note Floors forIndoor Sports.


29/54



14 For cricket a lighter coloured end wall (reflectance value>0.7) will be required behind the bowler end and additionallighting for cricket nets. See ECB recommendation for cluband school cricket. BSF Cricket Data Sheet England andWales Cricket Board (ECB).

See Sport England Badminton design guidance note forrequirements for badminton in dedicated and multi-usesports centres.

Typical sports hall wall colours rom the ICI Dulux Range.

For dedicated badminton centres, colours withlower light relectance values (LRV) are preerred,whilst in constrast or a multi sports hall, a higherLRV will help give a greater spread o light withinthe space. Where cricket nets are installed lightercoloured end walls or curtains are preerred to helpplayers see the cricket ball.

See Sport England design guidance noteBadminton and TS3 - Indoor sports halls withcricket provisions available rom the ECB website.

Internal walls

The internal walls should be lush-aced andimpact resistant. Options include:

plywood

air aced brick

painted block work

rameless or lush-ramed glazed panels.

Whatever material is selected, it is preerrable i itruns ull height and with a consistent colour ashorizontal changes in material cause visual

obstruction to badminton players and can result ina stepped back surace.

A diaphragm wall construction can be used inall masonry solutions.

The relectance value should be generallyaround 40-50% to give suicient contrast to awhite shuttlecock but not so dark as to result inan oppressive interior14. See Section 5, page 26.

The wall colour should contrast with the loorand be uniorm across the wall plane.

Include a 0.15 m skirting designed or easyreplacement i roller skating will take place inthe hall.

Doors and door rames should be lush withthe internal suraces, and should openoutwards away rom the sports hall. Escapedoors require panelling above and below thecrash bar (See diagrams on p29.)

Flush glazed panel and access door to give viewing romthe locker area into the sports hall

Standard proprietary flush door with a flush viewingpanel, opening outwards away rom the sports hall

Flush doors, especiallythose with panic bolt

mechanisms, are otendicult to get right andconsideration should

be given to using metalrames and procuring as

a single source supply

item (like an engineeredwindow).

Colour Code *

Blue 86 BG 43/321

Green 30 GG 40/290

Blue green 53 GG 50/360

87 GG 51/291

10 GG 48/366

Notes:

* ICI colour code (Dulux) where the central numberrepresents the surace relectance. i.e. 86 BG 43/321 is acolour with a 43 % light relectance value (LRV).


30/54



Sports hall walls should be detailed or saety and withouthazardous projections. Flush suraces should extend to2.0 m minimum, preerably to 2.7 m above floor.

Store doors should be flush detailed, and unless they canonly be opened by operators and otherwise kept locked,they should not open out into the sports hall Doors mayneed to perorm as rebound panels and thereore theirconstruction needs to be robust and sae or users. Netbags should have no projecting fttings/eatures thatcould create a hazard and be high enough to notcompromise the fve-a-side rebound zone (1.21 m).

External escape doors must be panelled out to line throughwith the wall surace. The lower section can then orm parto the fve-a-side ootball rebound zone (1.21m high alongwalls) and a flush acing is essential or overall saety.

Internal doors must be panelled out to line through withthe wall surace, including vision panels which musthave suitable impact resistance as part o the reboundzone.

Note:

Note on adjacent

diagram regardingmodifying standardproprietary doors

applies

8-950approx

1050max

2

50app

Rebound panelsush with

surrounding wallface

All edges of the

recess should beradiused to minimise

risk of impact injury

Recessed panicbolt bar set at

height to conformto Building RegsPart M, British

Standards andAccessible Sports

Facilitiesrequirements

Flush secondary glazingwith suitable impact

resistance rating (to actas a rebound panel) andpositioning to conform to

Building Regs Part M,British Standards and

Accessible Sports

Facilities requirementsincluding minimum

zones of visibility

Note:

Modifying a standardproprietary door (asindicated) can be a cost

effective alternative to aspecialist manufacturer

supplied door (see

example shown on page28). However, issues

such as the addedweight of construction /

certication using thisapproach must becarefully considered.

Rebound panelsush withsurrounding wall

face

Door openings

should bedesigned for

the movementof the largestpieces of

sportsequipment

Vision panelsupplied with

standardProprietary

door to meetgeneral re

/impact

resistanceregulation

requirements



31/54



Climbing walls should not be located in asports hall. For saety and operational reasonsthey require a separate dedicated space.

Exterior acades

When selecting materials or exterior acadesconsider the ollowing points:

Successul external claddings can includecolour-coated steel. Where proiled metal isused this looks better when run horizontally.

Cedar boarding can be appropriate as it ischeaper than metal cladding and i properlyspeciied requires minimal maintenance.

Metal cladding used above brickwork at alower level invariably gives a very industrialappearance and should be avoided.

External windows and door rames must be inpowder-coated aluminium or galvanised steel,

PVCu or hardwood.

Roo

The roo soit and structure should:

Be uniorm, preerably white with more than90% relectance value

Make provision or acoustic absorbency.Reverberation time should not exceed twoseconds at mid-requency 15

15See later section on acoustics

Wall colour should have a reflectance value o around50%. Only halls specialising in table tennis or dedicatedbadminton centres will beneft rom a darkerbackground.

The roo decking should span the main beamsto achieve minimum visual obstruction

Where unavoidable, internal linings orsuspended ceilings must be impact-resistant

Suspended ceilings are generallyinappropriate or sports halls. Mill-inishstanding seam aluminium roo inish is likelyto provide the best value or money or mostsports buildings and can be curved, avoidinginterruption o the ridge.

Where the location demands a slate or tile roothe better quality pressed steel sheet productscan provide a convincing appearance or

buildings o this scale without the weight penaltyo the genuine product.

Fittings

Early consultation isrecommended withspecialist equipmentcompanies to ensurecoordination o clear

heights, court markings,foor ttings and saety

requirements.

The hall should be equipped with a range o ixedequipment depending on the chosen prioritysports. Typically this might be:

Wall- or roo structure -mounted basketballgoals with additional practice goals ixeddirectly to the wall

Roo structure-mounted spotting rig orgymnastic (wall itting to be above 2.0 m high)and tracked division netting

Cricket nets

Floor and possibly wall sockets with lushitted cover plates will be required or speciicitems o equipment

Pulley-mounted net bags.

Care should be taken to ensure that there are nodimensional conlicts with the court markings and

the saety requirements.


32/54



Foyer

WC

Handrail

Skate store

Matting

to slow skatersBoot

change/

sitting

out

Sports hall

Demountable 1.2m

high barrier

Ramped thresholds

See Sport England publication Developing the Right Sports Hallor sports activities and business plan considerationswhen developing a project brie. Roller skating might be popular or some sports halls but requires an appropriatespeciication or the loor, skirtings, music equipment and storage.


33/54



6.0 Environmental and

sustainability issuesHeating, lighting and ventilation services canaccount or a signiicant proportion o constructioncosts. It has been estimated that energy canaccount or between 24-30% o the overalloperating cost o a dry sports acility. It is oten thenext largest item to sta cost. The ull environmentalimpact o a sports hall building through its lie cycleshould be careully considered and it isrecommended that the BREEAM assessmentmethod be considered 16.

Energy eiciency

Installations should be designed or simplicity andserviceability to achieve the required environmentalconditions and energy saving criteria. Goodinsulation and air sealing o the building envelopeshould be achieved together with careul selectionand operation o the optimum temperature andventilation rates or the occupied space.

Simple energy conservation techniques, such asheat recovery and eicient thermal and timecontrols will also be beneicial. The way sports hallsare used make them particularly suitable oroccupancy sensors or presence detectors to

automatically control heating, lighting and/orventilation systems, in order to avoid wasteulconditioning o spaces when they are unoccupied.Unlike other building types, sports halls generallyneed to exclude solar penetration and are less ableto beneit rom solar gain as a contributor to energyeiciency.

Overall heating and ventilation requirements

The heating and ventilation o a sports hall will berequired throughout the year.

The main active sports are likely to be badminton,

basketball, and ive-a-side ootball / utsal and aheating system that gives an overall minimumtemperature range o 12 to 16 C will satisy mostusers. However, temperatures o up to 20 C maybe required or less physically intensive sportssuch as short-mat bowls and or other sports,coaching and training where participants may bestatic or periods o time. In practice,sports hallsmay oten require low levels o heating but dobeneit rom systems that have ast response timesin order to be adaptable to the needs o dierentuser groups.

Subject to the introduction o adequate resh air tomeet the requirements o occupants (minimum20%), the air in the sports hall can be re-circulatedin order to minimise the energy needed to heat upthe incoming air. Such a system can have automaticcontrols and carbon dioxide or other types odetectors to achieve acceptable air quality.

The resh air requirement will generally depend onthe number o occupants, unless dependant onthe cooling needs. The CIBSE Guide does notdeine a value or sporting activities but a value o8-12 l/s o resh air per person is appropriate inmost circumstances. A ventilation rate o approx1.5 air changes per hour is adequate or most 4court sports halls o between 7.0-8.0 m highassuming heat gain or large occupancies are notan issue and that there is good air distribution.

Air velocities should generally be kept below 0.1m/s with the sports activity volume. This isparticularly important or badminton where the

light o the shuttle cocks is likely to be up to6.0-7.0 m over the court.

In the interests o sustainability, considerationshould be given to providing separate controls orheating and ventilation so that the space can bemaintained at a comortable temperature ready oruse, and the ventilation is linked to occupancy andair quality. Such an approach can provide resh airat the required rate and save on an power andheating energy.

Common complaints insports hall H & V systems:

Overheated / stuy in warmsummer periods (openingthe escape doors canexacerbate the problem)

Too cold / draughty in winter

Smells rom the heatingsystems when started upater being dormant in thesummer (school sites).16 The Building Research Establishment Environmental

Assessment Method (BREEAM) includes leisure buildings.http://www.breeam.org/podpage.jsp?id=388

The use o presencedetectors and temperaturesensors should beconsidered or all systems.


34/54



Choice o systems

The ollowing systems are oten seen as the mostappropriate or sports halls:

Radiant heating ceiling panels with a separateventilation system

Combined ducted warm air and ventilationdelivering through air handling units (AHU).

A ducted warm air system has generally been seenas the preerred method o integrating heating andventilation. It can give a good degree o control oair quality throughout the year and achieve gooddistribution and eiciency.

In some instances an convectors and unit heaterswith outside air provision can provide a limitedamount o ventilation, but this is generally not verysubstantial or eective.

High-level extract ans in the roo or walls togetherwith appropriate means o outside air supply canoten be used as a separate ventilationsystem andcan be eective, subject to air velocities notaecting shuttlecocks and large volumes o coldair causing high heating loads or discomort. Thenoise caused by wind acting on the externaldamper can also be an issue.

Natural ventilation systems such as ventilationtowers that utilise wind energy can also beconsidered. However, these will need some ormo supplementary system to deal with warmwindless days and some means o tempering thecold incoming air during cold winter periods. Therisk o unwanted air movements needs also to beconsidered. Some natural ventilation productsutilise solar panels to activate an auxiliaryventilation an on warm windless days.

Where the hall is part o a larger centre, the choiceo system may be inluenced by the needs o otherareas. Even in the smallest project there are likely

Natural ventilation towers in roo to give controlledventilation and compensate or the heat loads rom

occupants, artiicial lighting and solar gain, and anti-glareroo-lights to supplement the artiicial lighting

to be changing rooms and entrances that will needto be heated and ventilated and might beintegrated with the hall system and give scope orshared uel source and plant room space.

See Sport England design guidance note Floorsfor indoor Sports or concerns about potentialproblems with the thermal stability andperormance o loors with under loor heatingsystems. The coordination o the exact locationso loor sockets or sports equipments needs tobe considered. Oten loor sockets are installed

ater the building construction is completed andunder loor heating system may limit uturelexibility. The response time o under loor heatingsystems to cope with varying programme needsmay also be a consideration.

Light fttings suspended rom main beams located

between the badminton courts. Additional lighting orcricket nets. Clear height requirement taken to thelowest point. Drop down basket ball nets to old up tomaintain clear height requirements

See Sport England design guidance note Floors forIndoor Sports.

The type o heating systemshould be identied early tocoordinate with the clear

height / space requirementand xing o sports

equipment (See diagram onpage 27). Examples are:

Radiant heating systems shouldnot be too close to netting

Air distribution ducts shouldnot impact upon clear heightsand sports use within the hall

Floor socket conlicts withunder loor heating (including

uture installations).


35/54



Artiicial lighting

Adequate artiicial lighting is an essential elemento the sports hall and should be integrated into thedesign rom the outset, rather than be added inlater.

The sporting activities oten demand critical visualtasks, with ast moving objects and players. It isimportant that the whole volume o the space isconsidered and that the quality o illumination isconsidered along with the colour and texture omaterials. See Section 5 page 26 or relectancelevels o walls, loors and ceilings.

A good lighting system should provide adequateluminance, suitable brightness, contrast, uniormityo light distribution and satisactory control oglare. It will also have a major inluence on theoverall ambiance o the hall.

Uniormity ratio (Emin/Eave) the ratio ominimum to average illuminance over theplaying area

Colour rendering (Ra) an indication o thequality /distortion when compared to naturallight.

It is vitally important thatthe roo / ceiling enclosure,

lighting system and thelayout o the courtmarkings in a hall aredesigned together.

For 34.5 x 20 m and 40.6x 21.35 m sports halls:

A 500 lux lighting systemthat caters well or

Badminton, with courtsrunning across the hall, willbe adequate or mostsports that are played alongthe length o the hall.

However a switchable system

should be considered:

to improve the suitability orbadminton, basketball andvolleyball

to increase to 750 lux averageand uniormity min / averageo 0.8 over cricket nets.

See separate Sport England guidance or variationsbetween technical advice (such as BSEN12193:2007 and CIBSE LG4) and requirements oNational Governing Bodies or the priority sports ina particular project.

Daylighting

Any proposed use o daylight in a sports hall needsvery careul consideration. There are likely to betechnical issues that need to be weighed againstthe perceived beneits. These include:

Controlling glare

Stable and uniorm levels o lighting

Heat gain

Local cooling.

The capital cost o incorporating daylight can be2-3 times that o a plain wall or roo, andmaintenance costs are likely to be increased. The

Many sports halls have to cater or a range oactivities and some simultaneously where thesports hall can be divided into sections. There mayalso be a need to achieve adequate visualconditions or spectators. Non-sporting use mayalso be a requirement, or example on a school sitethe hall may be used or examinations and schoolplays. Where substantial variations in luminanceare required, additional switching o supplementarylighting could be considered.

It is generally recommended that or multi sportshalls, the lighting design is based on the

requirements o the priority activities, whilstensuring that, as ar as practicable, all otherpotential activities are catered or. In most situationsin England a lighting design that caters well orbadminton, with courts running across the hall willbe more than adequate or the sports that areplayed along the length o the hall. However acommon enhancement is to provide an additionallighting system or cricket that can be controlledseparately.

The key issues or lighting design can besummarised as:

Illumination value ( Eave) minimum maintainedaverage. The system should be designed with ahigher initial value and or planned replacemento lamps when output alls below the Eave level


36/54



Light fttings suspended rom main beams locatedbetween the badminton courts. Additional lighting orcricket nets.

inclusion o daylight is diicult to justiy solely oneconomic grounds and amenity beneits

sports halls - design and layouts 2012

Documents