Knowledge Fitness First
Tate Stevenson Architects Ltd (TSA) was appointed as a single economic entity by Knowledge Fitness First in February 2015 to design a new Gymnasium and fitness facility at Scarva Road Industrial Estate, Banbridge.
The site was located within 2 units of an existing shell industrial building at the rear of the Industrial Estate adjacent to several operating businesses which shared a common parking area.
The total refurbishment area equalled 445sqm split over two floors with the ground floor containing mainly the gymnasium and anaerobic exercise and the upper floor used for aerobic type activities.
The ground floor gym was laid out in an open plan arrangement with areas zoned for circuit training, equipment training and a 15m indoor running track. Also located on this floor were 2 treatment rooms for Cryotherapy and massage as well as the ancillary accommodation required to run the operation. The first floor layout required the insertion of a steel and timber mezzanine floor, access stairs and a lift to provide two open plan dance floor spaces with cushioned floor coverings and full height mirrors on the back wall. Two large stores were also located on this floor so that exercise mats can be safely secured out of the way.
During the design process TSA consulted extensively with the client and the equipment supplier and worked through several costed options before arriving at a final solution. The specific requirements of the cryotherapy chamber meant one of the treatment rooms had to have a safe store for the liquid nitrogen cylinder and ventilation to remove excessive steam. The room also had to look futuristic to reflect the technology used which we achieved by using colourful high pressure laminated and concealed LED coloured lighting.
TSA also provided mechanical and electrical design solutions for the project incorporating mechanical ventilation to all areas via colourful exposed ducting as well as a dynamic lighting scheme.
Tate Stevenson lodged a planning application for change of used in March 2015 following a pre-application discussion with the authorities and followed up with a traffic impact assessment required by DOE Roads Service during the consultation period. A building control application was submitted in April 2015 and plans approval obtained in October 2015.
The project was constructed by the client, an experienced builder as a self-build project funded privately so TSA did not have any administrative duties however during that period TSA attended several technical site meetings and dealt with building control queries arising from site. The work on site commenced in May and completed in November of 2015 allowing time for fitting out prior to the January public rush to take up gym membership.