As part of Belfast City Council’s £105m Transforming Leisure initiative, a number of pre-existing leisure centres have been demolished and are being replaced by new, state-of-the-art leisure facilities.

Amongst those facilities undergoing regeneration are the Andersonstown, Brook and Robinson leisure centres. The striking, modern exteriors of the three new buildings were created using a combination of Kingspan Facades' QuadCore® Evolution Axis and QuadCore® Recess panels.

Andersonstown Leisure Centre
Andersonstown offers a multitude of opportunities for family fun, with a focus on water leisure and wet play, as well as spin and exercise studios, a 140-station fitness suite and much more.

Brook Leisure Centre
The main focus of the Brook Leisure Centre is to be a sports centre for Gaelic football and soccer. In addition to the 3G GAA pitch, hurling wall, and three 5-a-side pitches, the new facility also provides a 5-court sports hall, 60 station fitness suite and a multi-function community room.

Robinson Centre
The newly named Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre is primarily an aquatics centre, providing a stage for galas, training and other competitions within its 25m, 8-lane pool.

Cohesive Design
To achieve the right balance between the individual and shared identities of the centres, each building was designed using different architectural approaches, but utilising the same palette of materials and colours.

QuadCore® Evolution Recess panels were used on the Andersonstown centre whilst QuadCore® Evolution Axis was used on the Brook centre. Linasharragh, meanwhile, is clad in a combination of both QuadCore® Evolution Axis and QuadCore® Recess panels.

The panels for all three buildings were specified in a subtle palette of colours from the Kingspan Spectrum range, including Metallic Greyrock, Solid Moonstone, Metallic Obsidian and Solid Pearl. The Spectrum coating’s excellent UV and corrosion resistance will ensure the colours retain their depth over time, keeping the buildings looking their best. The chosen monochromatic blend, along with the panels’ flat profile, folded panel ends and hidden fixings, unite to create a minimalist, contemporary aesthetic.

Ready, Set, Build
Chosen for their clean lines and quality, the single component installation of the QuadCore® Evolution panels helped to establish a quick and effective construction programme for each of the new buildings. As they can be easily laid vertically or horizontally, the QuadCore® Evolution panels offered the flexibility needed to realise the design, and different configurations were used on each building, adding further variety and individuality to their appearance. Fixed directly to the supporting steel work, the panels enabled a weathertight envelope to be constructed quickly, meaning internal trades could begin work much earlier than traditional building methods would have allowed.

Leisure for Life
The region’s Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS) places sustainable development at the heart of its planning decisions, ensuring that new facilities will contribute positively to their communities in every possible way, enhancing the area’s societal, economic and environmental well-being. It was therefore important that the materials specified for the leisure centres were in keeping with these principles.

The QuadCore® Evolution panelised facade system offered a sustainable, cost-effective solution as well as providing excellent structural, thermal, acoustic and durability performance.

The panels feature a QuadCore® insulation core, which delivers unrivalled thermal efficiency and will enhance the performance of the buildings over their lifetimes. This improved thermal performance helps optimise resource efficiency, meaning the leisure centres will be able to serve their communities for longer. QuadCore® technology is CFC, HCFC, HFC free and has a very low Global Warming potential, further upholding the environmental principles within the SPPS.