Dungiven Leisure Centre

This new-build leisure facility was designed to replace a play park, portacabin and grass pitch with a 2-storey sports hall, fitness suite and dance studio, office space, staff kitchen, stores, changing rooms, toilets and new 3G-synthetic pitch. A flat-roofed sports hall, barrel-roofed fitness suite and changing area are linked with lower flat-roofed foyer and corridor.

All buildings were constructed on traditional pad and strip foundations with trench fill to a suitable bearing stratum approximately 1.5m below the surface.

The superstructure is a braced-steel frame. The sports hall sway frame is stabilised with vertical diagonal plate bracing in the walls and the roof supported with curved cell beams and tubular bracing. The fitness and changing areas have an aluminium standing seam roof on metal deck. The flat roofs are supported by timber joists.

Structural slabs are at three levels to suit varying ground make-up. Each ground floor section is 200mm precast hollow core units supported on masonry tassel walls off reinforced concrete strip foundations on trench fill. They were designed to meet BS8110.

In preparation for the pitch, localised made ground was replaced with granular fill. A 450mm sub-base of Type 3 stone and geotextile layer were laid and left for two months to reveal any potential for settlement before the addition of bitmac, shockpad and 3G surface. Completion was timed to coincide with the summer weather. The pitch was designed to meet FIFA Quality Concept (FQC) Handbook of Requirements for Football Turf 2*, GAA Peformance Standard for Laboratory & Field Testing, IRB Regulation 22 / IRB Artificial Rugby Turf Performance Specification, and BSEN 15330 Pt 1.

A berm was created as defence against potential runoff into neighbouring properties at a lower level. Petrol interceptors were installed to minimise the risk of pollution. In liaison with Rivers Agency, storm drainage was designed with attenuation crates and Hydro-Brakes to discharge to boundary watercourse.

Photographs courtesy of P&K McKaigue

Click to expand the photos below