The £2.8 million project to build a Gymnastics Centre at Sportspark, based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, is underway. The building will be a cross laminated timber structure and is being constructed by Kier Eastern. Kier Eastern has used the technique on other buildings in Norwich including The Open Academy and are currently using it to build at City Academy Norwich.
The cross laminated timber is made by Austrian company KLH who work closely with Kier Eastern. The construction method involves lifting pre-manufactured panels into place to form the building structure. Seven articulated lorry loads of timber were delivered to Sportspark on 19 April. Currently the building is being erected with only three weeks required to build the main gymnastics hall.
Using the cross laminated timber structure means the building time is considerably shorter than traditional methods. With the structure in place it will only take a further four weeks for the cladding and roofing to make the new gymnastics hall fully watertight.
Keith Nicholls, Director of Sportspark, said: “This building will be fully sustainable and is very eco friendly. The wood used is from a sustainable source and there is no waste from the manufacturers. The cladding added to the outer walls of the building provides excellent insulation.”
He added: “Sportspark is proud to once again have Kier Eastern on site to add to Sportspark’s fantastic facilities. The firm built the Hadyn Morris arena in 2009 and we have always been impressed by the quality of the final product. The Gymnastics Centre is on schedule to open in September as planned and will provide people in Norwich with a first class gymnastics facility.”
David Henry, Senior Contracts Manager for Kier Eastern added: “We are delighted to be once again working with the University and Sportspark team particularly as we can use this modern construction method. The building will appear very quickly which allows internal and external operations to run concurrently, reducing the projects overall duration.”
The Gymnastics Centre is being added onto the back of the Haydn Morris arena, the second indoor arena which was added to Sportspark in 2009. The Gymnastics Centre will be 648 square meters and will have pits for vaulting, a high bar, tumble track, floor area and two floor level trampolines. There will be viewing areas at ground and first floor level, with the option to bring in additional spectator seating for competitions. The Gymnastics Centre will cater for those who wish to take up gymnastics at an introductory level and a programme of foundation level gymnastics is currently being developed.
