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Overview
St George’s College required a modern, high-performance sports facility that could support multiple indoor athletic activities while maintaining excellent natural lighting conditions and energy performance.
The new Activity Centre was designed as a multi-sports complex accommodating a large sports hall, dance studios, and gymnasium. To deliver an exceptional internal environment for both athletes and students, the building design prioritised natural daylight, thermal insulation, and visual comfort.
Structura UK worked alongside Scott Brownrigg Architects to deliver the façade solution for the project. The goal was to maximise natural daylight throughout the building while eliminating glare and harsh shadows that can interfere with sports activities.
To achieve this, Structura specified and installed Kalwall translucent façade systems, which provide diffuse natural light while maintaining strong thermal performance.
The completed building now provides St George’s College with a state-of-the-art sports facility that combines architectural innovation with high-performance façade engineering.
Details
Client:
Blenheim House Construction
Location:
Addlestone, Surrey
Architect:
Scott Brownrigg
Main Contractor:
Blenheim House Construction
Grid:
Shoji
Project Metrics
Key performance and project metrics include:
- 350m² of Kalwall translucent façade panels installed
- Clerestory façade system integrated with glulam roof structure
- Façade panels installed across multiple building elevations
- Installation completed using scaffolding and bespoke MEWP access systems
- Designed to support indoor sports activities including a Premiership-level hockey pitch
These metrics demonstrate the scale and complexity of the façade engineering work delivered by Structura.
The Challenge
Designing the façade system for the St George’s College Activity Centre involved addressing several architectural, environmental, and structural challenges. The building needed to deliver excellent daylight conditions for sports performance while remaining visually compatible with the historic setting of the school grounds.
Creating Optimal Daylight Conditions for Indoor Sports
Sports facilities require carefully controlled lighting conditions. Excessive glare, harsh shadows, or uneven lighting can negatively affect both performance and safety. Traditional glazing systems often allow direct sunlight to enter the building, which can produce glare on sports surfaces or disrupt athletes’ visibility. For the St George’s College Activity Centre, the design team required a façade system that could provide high levels of natural daylight, diffuse incoming light evenly across the interior space, eliminate glare and strong shadows, and maintain consistent lighting throughout the day. This was particularly important because the main hall needed to support multiple sports simultaneously, including indoor hockey and other high-intensity activities.
Designing Within Grade II Listed Grounds
The Activity Centre is located within the Grade II listed grounds of St George’s College, which meant the building had to complement the surrounding landscape and existing campus architecture. Rather than creating a conventional rectangular sports hall, the architects developed a more organic design that integrates with the surrounding environment. The building features a flowing glulam timber roof structure, which creates a distinctive architectural form. The façade system therefore needed to integrate with the curved roof geometry while maintaining both structural performance and visual consistency. This required careful coordination between the façade design and the building’s timber structural elements.
Integrating Façade Systems with the Roof Structure
The building’s façade system was designed as a clerestory installation positioned beneath the glulam roof structure, particularly along the southern elevation. Installing façade panels beneath curved glulam beams introduced several structural considerations. The façade system needed to accommodate structural deflection of the timber roof beams, accurate fixing to the glulam structure, alignment with the roof contours, and long-term structural stability. Achieving this required precise design coordination and careful installation planning.
Ensuring Impact Performance for Sports Activities
Another major requirement for the project was impact performance. The main sports hall within the Activity Centre includes an indoor Premiership-level hockey pitch, which means façade elements must withstand potential impact from sports equipment. The façade system therefore needed to provide high durability, strong impact resistance, and long-term structural reliability. These requirements influenced both material selection and installation methods.
Managing Solar Heat Gain in a Naturally Ventilated Building
The building was designed to use natural ventilation, which means controlling solar heat gain was critical. If excessive solar radiation enters a naturally ventilated building, it can cause internal temperatures to rise beyond comfortable levels. The façade system therefore needed to allow daylight penetration while limiting unwanted solar heat gain. Balancing these competing requirements was a key part of the façade engineering strategy.
Structura’s Solution
To address the complex architectural and performance requirements of the project, Structura specified and installed Kalwall translucent façade systems throughout the building. Kalwall is a high-performance daylighting material designed to diffuse natural light evenly while delivering excellent thermal insulation.
Specifying Kalwall Translucent Façade Panels
Structura worked closely with Scott Brownrigg Architects to integrate Kalwall panels into the building design. Kalwall systems are particularly well suited to sports facilities because they provide uniform daylight diffusion, reduced glare, excellent thermal insulation, high impact resistance, and lightweight structural performance. These characteristics made the system ideal for achieving the project’s daylighting goals.
Installing 350m² of Translucent Façade Systems
Structura delivered and installed approximately 350 square metres of Kalwall translucent façade panels across the building elevations. The façade panels wrap around multiple elevations of the building, allowing natural daylight to penetrate deep into the interior spaces. By surrounding the building with translucent panels rather than conventional glazing, the design ensures consistent light levels throughout the facility.
Clerestory Façade Integration
A key architectural feature of the building is the clerestory façade installed beneath the glulam roof along the southern elevation. Clerestory installations allow daylight to enter the building from higher positions on the façade, distributing light more evenly throughout the interior space.
This approach provided several benefits, including increased daylight penetration, reduced glare from direct sunlight, and improved visual comfort for sports activities. Structura carefully designed the façade connections to ensure the Kalwall panels could be securely fixed to the glulam structure while accommodating the natural movement and deflection of timber beams.
Precision Installation Methods
Due to the building’s architectural form and installation height, the façade installation required a combination of specialised access systems. Structura’s installation team used scaffolding systems and bespoke Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs).
These systems allowed safe and precise installation of the façade panels across the various elevations of the building. Careful sequencing ensured the façade installation aligned with the construction schedule and structural elements of the building.
Designing for Structural Movement
Because the façade panels were fixed directly to glulam beams, the design needed to account for the natural deflection tolerances of the timber structure. Timber beams can experience movement due to structural loads, environmental changes, and long-term material behaviour. Structura engineered the façade connections to accommodate these tolerances while maintaining weather resistance and structural stability.
Project Results
The completed Activity Centre at St George’s College demonstrates how thoughtful façade engineering can transform both the functionality and architectural quality of a sports facility. The project delivered significant benefits in terms of daylight performance, environmental comfort, and building design.
Exceptional Natural Daylight
One of the most significant outcomes of the project is the quality of daylight within the building. The Kalwall translucent façade system diffuses incoming sunlight, ensuring that light spreads evenly throughout the sports hall and associated spaces. This eliminates harsh shadows and glare, which are common problems in conventional glazed sports facilities. As a result, the building provides a comfortable visual environment for:
- Indoor sports activities
- Training sessions
- School events
- Everyday student use
Improved Thermal Performance
In addition to daylight performance, the façade system provides excellent thermal insulation. Kalwall panels are designed to deliver strong thermal performance compared with traditional glazing systems. This helps maintain stable indoor temperatures and improves the overall energy efficiency of the building.
Reduced Solar Heat Gain
Because the building relies on natural ventilation, managing solar heat gain was critical. The translucent façade panels allow natural light to enter while reducing the intensity of solar radiation. This helps prevent excessive heat buildup inside the building, supporting the effectiveness of the natural ventilation strategy.
Architectural Integration with the Landscape
The building’s façade system also contributes to its architectural identity. The translucent panels complement the flowing glulam roof and help the building blend with the surrounding landscape. Because the project sits within Grade II listed grounds, maintaining a visually sensitive design was essential. The completed building successfully balances modern architectural expression with respect for the historic campus environment.
A Landmark Sports Facility
The final result is a sports facility that combines architectural innovation, high-performance materials, and advanced façade engineering. The building provides St George’s College with an inspirational environment for sport and physical activity. With its advanced daylighting system, strong thermal performance, and carefully integrated façade design, the Activity Centre is now recognised as one of the most advanced school sports facilities in the UK.