The Magnet Leisure Centre, built in the centre of Maidenhead around 1975, has been replaced by a new facility set in a nature reserve on the outskirts of the town.
BRL Architects were appointed by the local council to design a leisure centre that embraces the beauty of the surrounding tree-lined park. Sustainability improvements and the local community were at the heart of this project.
VELUX Commercial won the tender to deliver the 45.6m x 4.3m structural barrel vault rooflight system, with integrated ventilation, planned for the central gallery.
The use of a diffused polycarbonate solution minimises glare on sunny days, making it possible to look up and see the large timber arches amongst the rays of natural light, a view not dissimilar from the walk in the nature reserve around the leisure centre.
VELUX Commercial designed a vertical frame to incorporate a natural ventilation solution within the barrel-vault shape of the rooflight to minimise any visual impact. The rectangular aluminium structure sits beneath the rooflight and accommodates 23 EN 12101 certified centre pivot louvres for both smoke and comfort ventilation on either side of the rooflight.
