Innovation : The Sutton Arena

HOCA Innovation in Projects

New Indoor Sports Arena

The HOCA Practice are very pleased to have had the opportunity in 2002/3 of collaborating with the London Borough of Sutton in the design and project management of a new £4.5M Sports Arena. Our involvement commenced with C&PC by taking over the project following the initial application to the Sport England for Lottery Board Funding. The initial proposal that formed the bases for the Lottery Board application was carried out as a separate independent exercise.

Design Development

The project was taken from basic schematic information forming the Lottery Board Application and developed in detail by HOCA through each stage up to inviting contractors to tender.

The were a number of aspects associated with this project which make it a unique and interesting exercise to be involved with.  Below are highlighted some of the main features which played a significant part in the decision making process for the project.  Most significant for this project was the early decision to progress the project under a Develop & Construct regime, the essence of which is outline below.

First Floor Level Sprint Track

One of the major features of the design development of this scheme is the location of the sixty meter Sprint Track with a twenty two meter run-of length.

The design faced a major cross-roads at the commencement of the detail design stage by virtue of the fact that Lottery Board were not satisfied a number of aspects, namely the changing facilities were not large enough and the entrance lobby did not lend itself as an appropriate solution.

Given the absolute limitation of land available, that is, no additional space was available, a major problem therefore, presented itself. The trust of the problem was this, how to accommodate a very substantial increase in floor area within the same building footprint.

Having examined and tested a number of options it was decided to locate the Sprint Track at a higher level thus freeing up valuable floor space at ground floor level.

With this option decided as the best alternative the natural flow of the detail design development carried through to a point of inviting tenders.

Fitness Suite

The extent of the floor area was further assessed by the Client during the design development stage. It was found to be somewhat undersized for it to be a viable functional space. A number of options were explored by HOCA and, given the restrictions and limitation of available floor space within the building footprint, it was impossible to enlarge the Fitness Suite horizontally. Vertical expansion was the only other option for accommodating this particular client requirement. By excavating into the ground for a depth of approximately 1500mm in conjunction with utilising the 5000m height from ground to first floor level, we were able to introduce a mezzanine level. This allowed the overall floor area of the fitness suite to be increased which, together with the formation of a gallery, offered a more useable and viable space for a fitness suite.

Environmental Conditions

The scheme provides for cooling and, we are happy to confirm that provision has been made to accommodate the ducts within the ceiling voids in the surrounding spaces, the air handling units themselves, which are 300m deep ‘flat pack’ units are located at high level within the ventilated store area and to the underside of the first floor within the lobby area, all as described on the Mechanical services drawings.

Ceiling to Dance Studio

The concept behind the profiled ceiling rest with the profile of the roof itself coupled with the fact a low point exists at the eaves. Given the nature and possible variety of activities scheduled for this space a decision was made to provide for a suspended ceiling. In order for a sensible solution to be arrived at for the installation of the ceiling consideration was given to two possible options.

The first option for HOCA was to install the ceiling at a constant level throughout. However, given the low point at the eaves this rendered that option unworkable as that level was too low.

The second option revolved around following the profile of the roof itself and at the same time, provide a sensible strategy for installing the lighting without having to introduce a expensive lighting solution. In order to address this a profiled ceiling tile was examined as a vehicle for negotiating the changes in level and, at the same time maintain a level surface for the installation of the simple lighting system.

Finally, the overall shape of the ceiling therefore takes full advantage of the actual profile of the roof. Equally, the shape of the ceiling lends itself to the functions to be carried out in the space where groups are under instruction and where the acoustic quality of the space is enhanced.

Internal Blockwork at 5M High

The concept behind the design of this feature rests with to two aspects. One is structural and the associated overall structural cost implications. Two restricting unnecessary costs generally.

The profile adopted here caters for items to be returned to ground level, especially any sports items in the four court hall.

Method of Procurement

Factors surrounding design concepts, build-ability and the methodology of construction formed an integral part in arriving at a final architectural design statement. Uppermost in our thinking from the early design stages was the importance attached to the architectural aspects of the project. Indeed, an early decision was made to ensure all the architectural aspects did not form a part of any outside specialist design input.

That said, we are mindful of the depth of knowledge and expertise which exist within Principal Contractor’s organizations and from the outset were keen to ensure the Sutton Arena project availed of the benefits Contractor’s design elements has to offer. The challenge the Sutton Arena project offered was this. How can we design, implement and control the full extent of the architectural elements and, at the same time, capitalise on the expertise the principal contractors have to offer for the design and construction of the remaining elements of the building project?. In other words, we were endeavouring to secure a method of procurement where the contractor would develop the design, which excluded all the architectural elements, and construct the building to incorporate his own specialist expertise and ingenuity for the remaining elements. The essence of the remaining elements would revolve around aspects associated with sub-structure and non architectural super-structure items.
In this respect, we examined a number of options in order to determine an appropriate way forward.

Traditional
We explored options within the Traditional Route and came to the conclusion that whilst this approach is a familiar method it did not provide the benefits being sought as described above.

Specialist Sub-Contractor
We explored options for securing the services of specialist sub contractors for Sub-Structure and Super-Structure. In this regard, we examined options for going out to tender to specialist contractors for these elements. With a specialist contractor established by this process as part of the design team, the specialist was to engage his specific design expertise on the project from the outset in the design development process.

Initially, one could identify the obvious benefits attached to this method but, within the bigger picture, there were other factors which rendered this approach unacceptable. The thrust of these being not all the competitive advantage could be realised by this approach. Equally significant is the fact that we could not condone a situation whereby we were inviting tendering Principal Contractors to accept our Nominated Sub-Contractor.

Develop & Construct
In the final analysis, and, given the objective to achieve the most competitive solution was uppermost for the given set of circumstances that existed at the time, it was deemed appropriate to pursue the design development under the auspices of a Develop and Construct regime. Under this form of umbrella, we were able to extract the maximum advantage for defining and consolidating the architectural elements. This may be seen from the almost seventy architectural drawings making up part of the Tender Documents. At the same time, the services of the Structural Engineer were employed to examine engineering concepts and to extract a number of likely engineering solutions which it was felt a tendering contractor might adopt.

The actual form of tender document as described in the Employer’s Requirements is one which we are obliged to use, only because no formal contract document exists for us to use although, there is nothing unique with the manner in which the works are to be executed. That said, specific provision was made in the Employers Requirements documents to accommodate the objective.

Adopting the preferred method of procurement outlined above, there was a smaller than usual specialist design input from the contractor as a consequence. This is due to the fact that full Architectural design was carried out specifically for tendering purposes. Indeed, contractors contacting our offices on items of clarification comment on the fact that they didnot need perhaps to engage an architect save for the purpose of a watching brief. Therefore the 3% allowed within the cost plan is in our view the worst case scenario and we would expect the contractor to achieve savings far in excess of this figure by employing specialist sub-contractors to review the structural elements along with the groundworks and M&E content. This route also allowed the contractor greater flexibility with regard to the construction logistics of the building.

Monodraught Sun Tubes

An early requirement was that the design should incorporate a measure of some natural daylight, if only to reduce the impact for the athletes being in a total internal space. Provision was made in the very intitial Lottery Board submission to introduce some daylighting through the roof with clear translucent sheeting. 

HOCA investigated alternatives options for introducing natural day light into the Arena Spaces. The objective for introducing natural lighting with the proposed Monodraught Sun Tubes was to substitute the inferior clear translucent sheets option in the roof. There are a number of advantages to be considered with the Sun Tubes. They will not become dirty as with the translucent sheeting in the roof as they are self cleaning, given their form. The Sun Tube solution provides a superior aesthetic externally over the alternative described.

With regard to the levels of natural day lighting provided we are adhering to the very original objective of providing a token amount of natural day light. We examined a scheme whereby far greater levels of natural daylight were catered for. In the final analysis however, this option was deemed to be inappropriate, given the number of Sun Tubes required and the associated costs but more importantly, a view was taken that, irrespective of the levels of natural daylights one endeavours to introduce in the arena area, it will need to be supplemented by artificial lighting also. The number of Sun Tubes proposed in this scheme therefore reflects a sensible number to adhere to the objective.

The level of the Sun Tubes are set to the general level of all lighting and heating units. This level was deemed to be the most useful for delivering the maximum amount of natural day light from the unit. However, where adjustment was required to facilitate the Pole Vault this was easily accommodated.

The lighting, heating units and Sun Tubes are set at a constant level that is 2.9M above the Sprint Track. The sections show the levels of the sun tubes but the drawings do not show the nature and extent of the services within the same space which is above this 2.9M level.

Veneerd Doors, Hardwoods Linings & Skirtings

Our early research and visits to various centers indicated the advantages of having a hardwood finish as opposed to a painted solution. Equally, the aesthetic and quality of environment the hardwood solution offers generally are aspects which should be borne in mind for a complex of this nature given, it’s location, its intended use and its function as a flagship for inspiring young athletes.

Costs Generally

Within the general scope of the project there are options, other than the ones highlighted above, where one may wish to reduce the contract sum and these can be examined in closer detail should the need arise. The development of the design from feasibility to the present scheme design stage however, was carried out with elevating the overall standard of finishes and specification as a goal. The level to which this might have needed to be reduced was to be decided upon the tender returns.

The manner in which this project was tendered has proved appropriate and very successful given that only one of the returned tenders came in above the last cost reported figure for the project.   The project was delivery on time and under the original budget.

The Practice Principals

September 2009