Project Overview
- Project: Jubilee Sport & Recreation Centre
- Client: University of Southampton
- Construction Value: £24.7m
- Status: Complete
- Location: Southampton
Jubilee Sport & Recreation Centre, £24.7M. ‘Active for All’ – using design to prioritise wellbeing within higher education.
Designed in the aftermath of the UK’s Covid-19 pandemic, the newly extended Jubilee Sports Centre represents an important shift in the way leisure facilities can support the wider ambitions of higher educational facilities.
After careful engagement (and in line with Southampton’s motto ‘Active for All’), our primary design objective was to remove as many barriers to healthy living as possible, inspiring all to participate in activities that promote health and wellbeing.
Ensuring the facility supported mental wellbeing as much as physical fitness was a key aspect for the university, as they sought to provide safe, welcoming, social-orientated spaces for their student population. Our design prioritised the benefits of green space, with clear sightlines into the adjacent public park, new ‘yoga garden’ and social terrace space positioned throughout primary circulation routes. New infrastructure incorporates activity trails and situates the new centre firmly within the existing parkland landscape, with two separate entrances providing easy access to both student-body and wider community.
In addition to the physical benefits, the university also wanted to encourage users to use the space for social activity, providing a warm and welcoming space for everybody to socialise, and where potential new friendships can be formed. The internal interior strategy encourages organic social interactions through dedicated social, active, and relaxation zones.
Awarded BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard, the building features passive design elements such as natural ventilation and light, with an improved airtightness of 3.5m³/h/m², lowering operational carbon outputs, and constructed with lower embodied carbon in mind, it also aligns the finished scheme with the RIBA 2030 Climate challenge. Contractor Wates estimate the centre to have generated c. £88,000 in social value.