Falkland Activity Centre

Proposed Layout of New Structure

In designing the layout of the interior, I have worked with information from four different sources – a) our existing clubhouse; b) Stirling’s new clubhouse which I have plans of; c) the sketch plans we generated for the first definition of the Falkland Activity Centre; d) the prefabricated structure we will be acquiring.

a) The existing clubhouse at Scroggie.

It has a frontage of 16.5m and a depth of 7.65m. The extension to the rear incorporating the howff and the umpires’ changing room (and computer centre) is 5.7 x 1.85m. The beer cellar between the clubhouse and the groundsman’s shed is 1.2 x 2.7m. These combined give a total external area of 140 square metres (m²).

I have measured the internal dimensions of each of the main areas within the clubhouse to arrive at the following breakdown of how the total space is used:

Functional Area	Area (m^2)
Lounge	25.65
Kitchen	5.88
Bar	7.56
Ladies WC (Single)	1.73
Gents WC (Single)	2.21
Urinal	2.43
Common Showers	4.86
Changing Room1	16.40
Changing Room2	8.51
Changing Room3	8.46
Changing Room4	9.54
Umpires' Room	4.50
Storage (Howff + Cupboards)	10.00
Cellar	2.99
Entrance, corridors, walls etc.	29.29
Total	140.00

Everything is too small for our current cricketing requirements, but in particular three of the dressing rooms are unacceptably small now that the modern cricketer carries all his own kit (including protective gear like pads and helmets) instead of working out of a single team kitbag containing four or five sets of batting equipment instead of eleven.

The current set-up is completely inadequate for use as a Falkland Activity Centre because:

· there is only one very small area that can be used as a multi activity space

· one single WC per sex is inadequate

· there is no accessible toilet facility

· sharing one set of four showers over four (potentially gender-specific) dressing rooms is impossible

There is a large amount of “wasted” corridor space due to every functional area apart from the beer cellar and the umpires’ room being accessed internally.

b) Stirling’s new clubhouse.

We chose to acquire copies of the Stirling plans deliberately. It is one of the most recent builds of a new clubhouse in the country and it also has to satisfy the needs of cricketers from four teams on match days. Their four dressing rooms are 17m² each without counting the accompanying toilet and shower space. Having played there on several occasions, we know that 17m² is manageable, but certainly not over-generous.

c) The first definition of the Falkland Activity Centre.

The main features included in our first “ideal world” definition of the Falkland Activity Centre were:

Feature	Details
Multi Activity Space 1A	7 * 9.5m = 66.5m^2 Entry from entrance foyer Access to kitchen and bar Service from kitchen and bar Overhead projector Storage area with sink Removable partition to Multi Activity Space 1B, making 98 sq m total
Multi Activity Space 1B	7 * 4.5m = 31.5m^2 Separate entry from entrance foyer Two storage areas Removable partition to Multi Activity Space 1A
Kitchen	Access from entrance foyer and Multi Activity Space 1A Access to bar and bar store Service to Multi Activity Space 1A
Bar	9m^2 Access from kitchen Service to Multi Activity Space 1A
Bar Store	4m^2 Access from kitchen, next to bar
External bin store
Entrance foyer	Main entrance from outside Access to both Multi Activity Spaces and kitchen Access (by sliding door) to Changing entrance Two toilets Counter with notice boards Two storage areas
Cleaners store	Access from Changing entrance
Unisex accessible toilet	Access from Changing entrance
Office/umpires’ room	Access from Changing entrance
Boiler room	Wood chip boiler Thermal store
Wood chip store
Changing rooms	Two pairs of two rooms, all of 17m^2 each Access from Changing entrance Access to the other room of the pair by sliding, lockable door Two unisex toilets per pair Four showers per pair
External toilets and showers	Accessed by sliding gate from outside Male and female toilets Male and female showers Unisex accessible toilet with shower
Grounds maintenance storage and workshop

d) The prefabricated structure.

The prefabricated structure is 21.4m across its frontage by 12.2m deep at ground level. That gives an external size of about 260m², not all of which encompasses internal space. As it stands, it is not big enough for our requirements. This is mainly due to its quirky conjoined design making it very difficult to fit in what we need.

I have been fascinated by the gap in the middle of the structure. It may have been necessary because there are no foundations under the centre of the building and it can’t support more than a triple span. There has been a suggestion that the two halves are of a different specification of production and they simply wouldn’t bolt together exactly. Whatever the reason, I see it as an opportunity rather than a problem. The total external area of the prefabricated structure is nearly twice that of the current Scroggie pavilion. However, when we look at the main areas required, it is not enough. Our original plan had a single rectangular area of about 100 square metres that could be split into two multi-activity spaces. Adding four changing rooms at 17m² each adds up to nearly 170 square metres before a shower, toilet, kitchen, bar or cupboard is considered.

So here is my cunning plan....

When we rebuild the prefabricated structure we make the “gap” bigger and make it usable. Making it 3.35m wide instead of its existing 1.35m makes the extra section exactly the same size as the other six. It also adds 24.4m² of external area, but more importantly it allows us to make good use of all the existing area and it removes most of the quirkiness from the design.

Increasing the gap (and roofing it) means we will have to acquire and fit additional roofing material (internal as well as external), roof trim, internal and external walls, flooring and insulation. Roofing this section is probably a worthwhile exercise anyway. Mr Brown showed us that one of the only problems they have had with the building in its 6 years was that the roof leaked above the adjoining corridor. The existing building has no water tank. There is just one toilet, WHB and staff kitchen, all of which are supplied directly from the rising main. We will need a large tank so we will also need a new, solid roof to put it on. The air conditioning units are currently in the gap that is open to the outside world. They too, would be better placed on a nice new roof. With the building being positioned towards the edge of a field backed by trees, with it being elevated and with the rooftop ancillary equipment positioned carefully towards the centre and rear, the visual impact will be minimal.

The middle section could be made larger if we discover that we are a bit tight for space once detailed drawings are produced. This would not damage the aesthetics of the building design, but it would drive up the cost of acquiring the extra materials, particularly the roof trim and external walls that may be available in the specific sizes of the standard sections.

I really like the imperial sizes of the structure. The 40ft lengths are in four sections of 10ft and are 11ft wide. 10 * 11 / 10.763915 (the magic number for converting square feet to square metres) gives a really nice block area of just over 10.2m², leaving an internal size (pretty much) of 10m² after walls etc. have been built. The whole structure with its 7 sections of 4 * 10m² would then give us a total of 280m² to play with. I can fit all our requirements into that.

Here is the first schematic showing the proposed Falkland Activity Centre design:

Key features of the above design are:

· I have changed as little as possible of the existing structure. All roller shutter doors and windows stay in place. Existing external walls are kept as they are now, the only exceptions being:

o The fire door is removed from the back of unit 3

o Unit 1 gets a new external entrance and fire door in its first section

o Unit 2 gets a new double external entrance in its rear side

· The front face which is predominantly glass will, of course, face out over the cricket pitch

· The entire structure will be raised on higher foundation blocks so the finished floor level (FFL) will be three feet above ground level at the front centre.

o Doing this means that people sitting inside will not have their view blocked by people standing outside - necessary for harmonious use of the building as a cricket pavilion

o It will also make for easier access to the services under the building. We are not planning it as a temporary structure this time so we need to consider maintenance

o The existing skirt which drops from the FFL to ground is six years old and already showing signs of wear and tear. It is only tin plate. We could make a finish with something else instead. Hedging, fencing or local wooden slats come to mind as possibilities.

· The two multi activity areas cannot be joined into one, but they are a bit more flexible in that they can be used concurrently for a reasonably noisy activity like a dance class and something educational like a lecture. This would not have been possible with the moveable partition in the original proposal

· The new external door at ground level in the new section will be used to bring in deliveries of beer etc. so the ramp and the wooden flooring in multi activity area 1 do not get damaged

· The two new external entrance areas at FFL will be decked, stepped and hand-railed to match the main entrance ramp

· Each changing room will have a central “table” 2’6” high with nine supporting legs. This will allow kitbags to be stored both underneath (when not in actual use) and above, artificially increasing the floor area – or reducing the demand for central floor space, whichever way you look at it. Even with kitbags on top, adults seated on the surrounding benches on opposite sides will still be able to see each other and converse

· All changing rooms will include a single WC and WHB and three showers

· All changing rooms will have bench seating around the outside of the remaining wall space with high wall pegs above

· Changing rooms 1 & 2 will have a higher specification of finish for the bench seating as there will be closed storage space underneath the seats

By way of further explanation, here is a coloured diagram showing how the levels will work in the elevated structure:

This coloured diagram shows the simple split between areas which will be left bare-floored or carpet-tiled so that studs can be worn and those areas that will be wooden-floored where studs are not allowed.

Here are more detailed drawings of some of the specific areas:

To save the need for any new wall on the frontage, we can put the score box and scoreboard there. The score box itself will be raised as high as possible (the ceiling heights are very generous) and the score board will be below the scorers’ window, but still high enough off the ground that people can’t stand in front of it. The umpires’ room and the gents’ toilet occupy the rest of this space:

The space for umpires and scorers would lend itself to use as office space during the week – with extremely nice views out the windows, looking over a cricket pitch. I am thinking about how we get internet access available in the new Falkland Activity Centre and there are a couple of possibilities. Running cable from the stable block is not really an option. A local device running on request could be expensive and the coverage is not great – patchy 3G at best. There is an option to extend a wireless network from a stable block broadband connection – wirelessly. I know the theory of how to do that. It does not require line of sight. It doesn’t matter if trees etc. get in the way so long as there is a direct line from a rather special design of antenna (it looks like a circular plough share with a couple of empty paint tins stuck in the concave middle of it) to a receiver in the Activity Centre.

I will complete more detailed drawings of the other specific areas – bar, kitchen, changing rooms etc. when they are required or when I get time, whichever comes first.

Obviously the “perfect world” definition from c) above had to be compromised while fitting the most important requirements into the fixed space of the prefabricated structure. I have lost the entrance foyer. The main entrance is directly into the main Multi Activity Space. I have dropped the boiler room and wood chip store. I have used one pair of the four dressing rooms as the “external” toilets and showers, without the external unisex accessible toilet and shower. I have also lost the grounds maintenance storage and workshop as the new building design wouldn’t accommodate it and it can be catered for easily and cheaply in an unfinished block and cladding structure elsewhere. I have incorporated the score box. Traditionally that would be positioned on the opposite side of the playing area from the clubhouse, but nowadays technology exists so that the main scoreboard can be geographically divorced from the score box. The likely future requirement for more technology makes it better to have the score box beside the best possible power supply and internet access, if available.

As a summary of the design, here is a table showing the areas given over to each of the required functional areas within the existing clubhouse at Scroggie and in the proposed structure.

Functional Space	Existing Area (m^2)	Proposed Area (m^2)
Multi-Activity Area 1	25.65	95.00
Multi-Activity Area 2		30.00
Changing Room 1	16.40	20.00
CR1 Showers		3.00
CR1 Toilet		1.00
Changing Room 2	8.51	20.00
CR2 Showers		3.00
CR2 Toilet		1.00
Changing Room 3	8.46	18.00
CR3 Showers		3.00
CR3 Toilet		1.00
Changing Room 4	9.54	17.00
CR4 Showers		3.00
CR4 Toilet		1.00
Communal Showers	3.81
Urinal	3.48	4.85
Gents Toilet	2.21	1.10
Ladies Toilet	1.73	2.00
Disabled Toilet		2.00
Kitchen	5.88	10.00
Bar	7.56	10.00
Cellar	3.00	10.00
Umpires Room	4.63	3.90
Scorebox		3.25
Storage	7.92	5.00
Corridors etc.	31.23	11.90
Total	140.00	280.00

And finally, now that we have the structure designed, we need to work out where to put it. Look through the pages under the Playing Areas section below to see what the conclusions are.

Existing Building	Proposed Structure	Playing Areas
Current Location	Existing Layout	School Playing Field
External Views	Proposed Layout	Lower Scroggie
Internal Views		Scroggie Park

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