Allander Leisure Centre

A Pioneering Inclusive Community Hub

The Allander had been a recreational hub for the community of the East Dunbartonshire suburb of Bearsden for over 40 years, hosting swimming galas, football birthday parties, nightly squash challenges, coffee mornings and fetes.
Similarly, Kelvinbank Resource Centre in Kirkintilloch had been a home from home for adults with learning challenges, dementia, autism, and physical disabilities – providing care and vital support to users and their families.

HM challenged the initial brief (a like for like sports centre ) to push boundaries and bring these facilities together to form one community hub – the new £42.5m Allander - with inclusivity at its heart. We saw it as a chance to break down barriers.

Through thoughtful design, this new centre could unlock a host of new opportunities for Kelvinbank’s users, placing them at the heart of the community and making a real difference to their lives. The added benefits, of course, would be a reduction in carbon footprint and operational costs.

Agile Sport+Leisure Design -

We wanted to create a distinctive Civic building with a timeless aesthetic that was welcoming, warm, generous and of a high-quality architectural specification. To reflect changing trends in sport and recreation, throughout the building we designed in multi-purpose spaces that will give the operator flexibility to meet changing levels of demand throughout the year, in a people-focused building of clear and simple spatial planning.

Our solution to what was a complex tandem-build involved arranging each core component of the building programme as a layered mass, sequentially stepping up to temper the scale of the building. This cascading form uses a clean and simple palette of materials that reflects the tones of blonde sandstone commonly used in Bearsden and Milngavie. High-quality brick steps down over a welcoming pleated glass and bronze main elevation.

The focal point of the building’s interior is a naturally-lit, timber-clad triple height entrance atrium that serves as a orientation point for clear circulation, and provides a living room for the community.

The building is topped by a translucent light box that wraps around the games hall to illuminate the space and provide a visual marker, alongside the geometrical roof form of the indoor sports pitches.The overall result is a warm, welcoming building that breaks down barriers, improves lives and creates synergies between sport, culture and mental health.