2013 AIA UK Excellence in Design Award

Hackney Marshes is a unique place. With its origins in ancient woodland and medieval common land, it remains a vast open space. Yet it also connects communities, as an important green space in a densely-populated area and the spiritual home of grassroots amateur football, drawing people from across London and the South East to its 82 pitches with over 70 matches played simultaneously on Sundays. However, by the turn of the century, the facilities provided for the hundreds of players and supporters were in need of urgent overhaul. The London Borough of Hackney developed an ambitious vision, recognising the site’s community value and pivotal location adjacent to the Olympic Park. Their initial brief requirements sought a piece of high quality architecture that would recognise the unique qualities of the site, which would instil a sense of pride and ownership, and increase participation in sport. Education and community facilities were required in addition to those for players.

A new ‘Community Hub’ at the South Marsh was commissioned in 2008. Hackney Marshes Centre provides fully accessible changing rooms and facilities for spectators and the local community, housed in a welcoming, inclusive building that recognises the special qualities of this place by bridging the boundary between the natural and artificial. It connects with its immediate surroundings, the local community, and the adjacent Olympic Park and Lea Valley.

The Centre was developed after discussion with local stakeholders and consideration of user’s needs. It is located on the south-eastern boundary of the pitches, with woodland at either end of the building locking it into the site, mitigating any sense of isolation. Height has been kept as low as possible to minimise impact on the site, which complements the expansiveness of the marshes. With an overall impression of horizontality, Hackney Marshes Centre is firmly embedded within the landscape.

Entering and using the building celebrates the acts of arrival, changing and spectating. A large glazed entrance offers direct views to a spacious double height reception area, changing areas and Hackney Marshes playing fields beyond. On the ground floor, two wings of changing rooms offer flexibility depending on usage requirements while community facilities are located on the first floor. These spaces include a generous and adaptable café with external terrace and two flexible teaching rooms for school groups, seminars, conferences and local community events.

Materials were chosen for their ability to weather into the landscape, their durability and security. The ground floor envelope is treated as a landscaped wall with gabion blocks forming a living, ‘green wall’, through which light filters into the changing rooms beyond. Elsewhere, weathered steel is used; its rich textural finish cladding the upper level and forming security gates, louvres and shutters. Punched openings allow light to enter by day and also create controlled night-time views into the building, which glow welcomingly as light emerges through the shutters and the gabion walls. The principal internal finish is fairface concrete and blockwork, left exposed for robustness and honesty.

Designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’, a sustainable approach to the design and construction of Hackney Marshes Centre was fundamental to the project. This involved the implementation of basic measures from the outset that minimised and reduced energy demand and water consumption. Sustainable features include an indigenous green roof that complements the local ecosystem, rainwater harvesting facilities and biomass boilers. The changing rooms and community spaces are designed for maximum flexibility - one of the key aspects of sustainable design that ensures a long lifespan for Hackney Marshes Centre with adaptability for multiple and future uses.

Hackney Marshes Centre is exemplary of the smaller-scale interventions to London’s built environment catalysed by the effect of the London 2012 Olympics. In particular, where local authorities expressed a desire to renew or create better facilities for parks and leisure areas In disadvantaged urban environments. Designed to enhance the experience of users, with an architecture that inspires, and draws upon the energy of players and spectators, the Centre provides a unique environment that supports playing and participating in sport. Most importantly, the project is contextual, fostering a real sense of place that synthesises sporting activity and the surrounding environment.