Billingham Forum, County Durham ( ; Elder Lester & Partners, architects)

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Appendix Two National Context Billingham Forum, County Durham (1962-67; Elder Lester & Partners, architects) Conceived in 1960 but not completed until 1967, Billingham Forum was dubbed the

1 Appendix Two National Context Billingham Forum, County Durham ( ; Elder Lester & Partners, architects) Conceived in 1960 but not completed until 1967, Billingham Forum was dubbed the grandfather of leisure centres by Pevsner, and 'without question, the father of the British leisure centre' by Lance Wright, editor of the Architectural Review. 1 Anticipating the shift from purely sporting to a combination of sporting and leisure facilities under one roof that occurred in the 1970s, it housed an ice rink, swimming pool, indoor bowls centre and sports hall, as well as a theatre. These occupied the four corners of the rectangular complex, with changing accommodation in the interstices and an entrance, two-storey courtyard and foyer sited beside on side. Writing in 1974 Lance Wright observed how it 'sets the pattern of the modern sports/leisure centre as a self-contained, introspective building... a handsome, if overpowering piece of 'sixties design', with circulation 'on the whole rather better than that of most subsequent schemes'. 2 According to Something Concrete and Modern- an ongoing project to document the buildings, people and plans that transformed North East England in the post-war era: The inclusion of the theatre alongside the sports facilities broke new ground in recreational planning and in the shift from sport to the broader notion of leisure, the Forum predated architectural thinking of the time by nearly a decade. The building s form is derived from the functions within, expressed in a variety of bulbous elements. The most distinctive is the canopy of the ice rink roof which is hung using steel cables running the length of the roof and cross-braced to achieve a clear 73m span. 3 In 2004, the theatre gained Grade II listed status, although the complex as a whole did not. The theatre and the rest of the complex was extensively refurbished in Billing Forum in c1974, with the ice rink and the bowls centre and sports hall in the foreground, and the theatre and swimming pool behind that. 1 Lance Wright, Architectural Review v156 (October 1974), ibid, p 224 & Architectural Review, October 1974.

The Skating Rink soon after completion in 1967. http://www.

2 The Skating Rink soon after completion in The Skating Rink following renovation in

3 Billingham Forum theatre in the 1960s and 2011 ( Ian Grundy 3 Main swimming pool and ice rink in 2010s. Sports Hall c1974 and following refurbishment in (Architectural Review, October 1974)/

Lightfoot Sports Centre, Newcastle-upon- Tyne (1963-65; Williamson Faulkner Brown & Partners) Conceived in the wake of the Wolfenden Report of 1960, which promoted the

Inspired by Pier Luigi Nervi's Sports Palazzetto in Rome, the dome's laminated timber ribs were clad in prefabricated reinforced fibreglass panels, cladding that had never been

4 4 www.somethingconcreteandmodern.co.uk; www.architecture.com; http://www.monkchester.co.uk/images/walker_2/101-0160_img.jpg 4 http://www.faulknerbrowns.co.uk/#practice/1962-69 ; N.

4 Lightfoot Sports Centre, Newcastle-upon- Tyne ( ; Williamson Faulkner Brown & Partners) Conceived in the wake of the Wolfenden Report of 1960, which promoted the construction of multi purpose sports centres, the Lightfoot Centre vaunted Europe's largest-diameter dome when opened in Inspired by Pier Luigi Nervi's Sports Palazzetto in Rome, the dome's laminated timber ribs were clad in prefabricated reinforced fibreglass panels, cladding that had never been used before on this scale anywhere. The 60m-span, 14m-high dome encloses an area of 2,300 square metres, with two tennis courts and eight badminton courts. It was refurbished ; N. Pevsner and I. Richmond (second edition rev. by J. Grundy, G. McCombie, P. Ryder, H. Welfare), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (1992), p 498; Lynn Pearson, Played in Tyne and Wear, charting the heritage of people at play (2010), p 24

Carlton Forum, Nottinghamshire (1968-69; Henry Swain, chief architect for Nottinghamshire County Council Architects Department) Arising out of the joint DES MHLG (Department of Education and

public sports facility in conjunction with a secondary school.

Like the school, the sports buildings were erected on the CLASP system (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) using prefabricated light gauge steel frames and, for the pool block,

5 Carlton Forum, Nottinghamshire ( ; Henry Swain, chief architect for Nottinghamshire County Council Architects Department) Arising out of the joint DES MHLG (Department of Education and Science/Ministry of Housing and Local Government circular of 1964 which asked that school sports facilities be open to the public, Carlton Forum was the first large-scale experiment in building a public sports facility in conjunction with a secondary school. The sports accommodation, comprising two squarish blocks were separately linked to different parts of the 1200-pupil comprehensive square. Like the school, the sports buildings were erected on the CLASP system (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) using prefabricated light gauge steel frames and, for the pool block, precast concrete, As a community facility, it was according to one critic 'wildly successful... but in terms of architectural morphology... a piece of school which has been graciously thrown open'. 5 It conspicuously failed to relate to the pre-existing built environment, and the sports block - a windowless brick box - had to be signified by means of designating lettering and a logo. 5 5 Lance Wright, Architectural Review v156 (October 1974), 224

poles, the principal interest of this facility was in terms of planning and interior decoration.

6 The Pickett's Lock Centre, Edmonton, LB Enfield (late 1960s; Williamson Partnership with J.M.V. Bishop of Lee Valley Regional Park) Described in 1974 as 'the Versailles of British sports centres', and then comprising three large plastic-coated steel-clad boxes approached by a propylaea of flag poles, the principal interest of this facility was in terms of planning and interior decoration. The three blocks were arranged around a central swimming pool, connected one to the other by a ramped concourse at first-floor level that permitted views of all the centre's major spaces. Lance Wright, editor of the Architectural Review, noted 'This imaginative use of circulation converts what would otherwise be a mere package pf facilities into a sort of indoor town'. 6 The other innovation was its use of massive graphical panels to offset the utilitarianism of the unconcealed interior structural elements. Bridget Cherry was less impressed, describing it as 'three large white functional boxes arranged around a central swimming pool, linked by generous circulation areas. Made a little less bleak by additions of : restaurant, cafe and cinema, and an entrance block by Fitzroy Robinson & Partners'. 7 6 Exterior and interior views from the early 1970s, showing interior graphical panels. Architectural Review, October Lance Wright, Architectural Review v156 (October 1974), Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus, London 4: North. The Buildings of England (1998).p 426.

Bletchley Leisure Centre, Milton Keynes (1971-76; Faulkner-Brown, Hendy, Watkinson, Stonor, architects) Comprising a two-storeyed block with

authority leisure pool, 8 roofed by a distinctive glazed pyramid with faceted acrylic sheets.

reception by a snaking, elevated walkway made from glass-reinforced plastic panels.

pool, this was demolished in the 2000s to make way for a new Bletchley Leisure Centre which opened in 2009.

7 Bletchley Leisure Centre, Milton Keynes ( ; Faulkner-Brown, Hendy, Watkinson, Stonor, architects) Comprising a two-storeyed block with attached north, south, east and west blocks in a cruciform-plan arrangement, Bletchley Leisure Centre incorporated Britain's first local authority leisure pool, 8 roofed by a distinctive glazed pyramid with faceted acrylic sheets. Essentially an outlying part of Milton Keynes New Town, the facility included a multi-storey car park which was connected to the centre's reception by a snaking, elevated walkway made from glass-reinforced plastic panels. 9 The multi-storey car park and elevated walkway was demolished in the 1990s, and despite attempts to secure listed status for the pyramid pool, this was demolished in the 2000s to make way for a new Bletchley Leisure Centre which opened in Architectural Review, October 1974; Twentieth Century Society; 8 Ian Gordon and Simon Inglis, Great Lengths: The Historic Indoor Swimming Pools of Britain (English Heritage, 2009), p Lance Wright, Architectural Review v156 (October 1974), 234

Crowtree Leisure Centre, Sunderland (1975-8; Gillinson, Barnett & Partners, architects) This huge complex made, for this type of building, early use of a space-frame roof (designed using the largest

8 Crowtree Leisure Centre, Sunderland (1975-8; Gillinson, Barnett & Partners, architects) This huge complex made, for this type of building, early use of a space-frame roof (designed using the largest NASA computer in Houston), 10 but its chief innovation was the great versatility in the rearrangement of space to suit future recreational and leisure activities. Designed by a multi-disciplinary practice 'who can fairly claim to have put the leisure centre on the map as a building type', it was lauded by the architectural press, Building describing it 'as the most advanced of a line of indoor leisure centres that have been developed in Britain over the past decade by municipal authorities'. 11 Elizabeth Williamson exclaimed in 1983: 'exciting in scale and construction and, according to the original plan, exciting also in colour, with polished instead of matt stainless-steel cladding and a red-painted space frame. Twelve four-columned concrete pylons support a giant space-frame roof over one vast, infinitely adaptable space (cf. Billingham Forum). Recessed in the centre of the front the glazed entrance, impressive except for the bridge and the untidy staircases from the upper level of the shopping centre to first- and ground-floor entrances. The other facades blank and huge in scale. Inside, a leisure pool with palm trees and beach but no tropical sunshine: only limited daylight filters from the rooflight. Flanking, a skating rink and sports halls and courts Crowtree suffered from technical problems and high running costs. In 1999 the ice rink closed. In 2008 the pool closed. Demolished in 2013/ 'A Family Affair', Interior Design, March 1979p 'Martin Spring, Municipal Leisure Palace', Building, 4 August 1978, p Elizabeth Williamson and Nikolaus Pevsner, County Durham (1983), p.458 Building, 4 August 1978

9 9 The main entrance, showing the dramatic structure of the overhanging space-frame roof. Demolition of the leisure complex in c2013, detailing the early NODUS space-frame roof. alamy.com Interior Design, March 1979

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