Avon River Climbing Centre Chippenham, North Wiltshire, Southwest England Building, English Architecture Photos

Avon River Climbing Centre in North Wiltshire

15 Sep 2022

Design: Artel31

Location: Chippenham, North Wiltshire, Southwest England, UK

Avon River Climbing Centre North Wiltshire

Photos by Pete Helme and Paul Twomey @ TCA

Avon River Climbing Centre, England

Avon River Climbing Centre was one of the UK’s first purpose built climbing centres

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire England

What was the brief?
The brief was to improve an area of disused sports fields which were prone to flooding. The client was a local charity with a desire to bring significant benefit to the local town which had long missed out on investment. The brief was built by the local population through a series of community engagement meetings each seeking out key stake holders and offering up alternative visions for the area of land.

Avon River Climbing Centre North Wiltshire

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire

What were the key challenges?
Sitting on a flood plain we needed to not only ensure the building and its users were safe in the case of highwater levels but also to ensure that the site could hold more water after we undertook the work to protect properties downstream. The building itself is lifted 1.5m into the air on stilts and large compensatory volumes were excavated.

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire

The extremely small number of centres previously built from scratch meant we had to research internationally to find the information needed to balance to requirements of energy usage while accounting for chalk dust, which is extremely light and had to be considered at every step of the design and build process to ensure longevity of air handling and fire detection through easy access to filters etc.

Key products used:
The highly insulated fabric uses a combination of composite panels and SIPS for enclosure which are then clad in local timber.

Avon River Climbing Centre North Wiltshire Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire England

Who are the clients and what’s interesting about them?

CBLC:
Chippenham Borough Lands Charity has a broad and rich history dating back to the rule of Queen Mary in the sixteenth century. They are a charity organisation that benefits the majority of Chippenham’s population. Through funding, encouragement, and guidance, Chippenham Borough Lands ensure that all generations have the opportunity to grow and succeed. By benefiting the people of Chippenham and only those within the area, the Charity maintains high levels of support that aids the diverse groups in the town community.

Avon River Climbing Centre North Wiltshire

TCA:
The Climbing Academy started in Bristol in 2008 with a vision of building communities through climbing. They now run 5 centres in Bristol, Glasgow and Chippenham.

Avon River Climbing Centre North Wiltshire

What are the sustainability features?
The building is highly insulated and uses local materials to minimise embodied energy.
MVHR and Photovoltaics ensure minimal energy demand.
Low water taps, wc’s and showers etc we specified to reduce potable water usage.
Local timber used for majority of cladding and enclosure
Biodiversity improvements including elements of re-wilding and wildflower meadows, flowering and fruiting trees, bee posts, circa 20 bird and bat boxes, the retention of existing trees and the planting of hundreds more.
Limited parking and improved cycle/footpath access to minimise car usage.
Recycling areas
EV and EB charge points
Low energy lighting and Air Handling Units.

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire

How is the project unique?
As one of the first purpose built climbing centres in the UK it was funded by a local charity with support from Sports England and Wiltshire Council. The site constraints including conservation view corridors, proximity to residential and retirement properties and flooding combined with a genuine desire for the brief to be led by the people of Chippenham ensured that the building had to balance a need for size against regulations, and high levels of design against cost effectiveness to ensure a viable business case going forwards.

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire

Avon River Climbing Centre in North Wiltshire, England – Building Information

Architect and Contractor: Artel31 – https://artel31.co.uk/
Structural and Civil Engineering: Giraffe Engineering
Ecological services: Ellendale Environmental
PM and QS: CMS Group Ltd
Principal Contractor: Rigg Construction
M&E Engineers: Greengauge Building Energy Consultants
Street Furniture and Canopies/Stores: Langley Design
Skate Park Design and Build: Canvas Spaces
Climbing Wall Design and Build: Walltopia

Avon River Climbing Centre Wiltshire England

Photography: Pete Helme and Paul Twomey @ TCA

Avon River Climbing Centre in Chippenham, North Wiltshire images / information received 150922

Location: Chippenham, North Wiltshire, southern England, United Kingdom

Wiltshire Buildings

Contemporary Architecture in Wiltshire – architectural selection below:

Wiltshire Buildings

Wiltshire House
Design: YARD Architects
Wiltshire House Southwest England
photo courtesy of architects office
Wiltshire House

Kite House, near Salisbury
Design: AR Design Studio, Architects
Kite House on River Avon by AR Design Studio
rendering : Nu.Ma
Kite House on the River Avon

Ansty Plum
Design: Coppin Dockray Architects
Ansty Plum
photo : Katie Lock
Ansty Plum in Wiltshire

Shadow House
Design: Jonathan Tuckey Design
Shadow House Wiltshire
photo : James Brittain
Shadow House

Swindon Indoor Snow Centre Building
Design: FaulknerBrowns Architects
Swindon Indoor Snow Centre Building
image from architecture practice
Swindon Indoor Snow Centre Building

Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre
Design: Purcell, architects
Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre
image from architect studio
Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre Building

Bourne Hill Offices

Salisbury Cathedral

National Trust Headquarters Wiltshire

Stonehenge Visitor Facilities

English Architectural Designs

English Architecture Designs – chronological list

English Architecture

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