Swiss Cottage Masterplan Buildings, Architects, Photos, London NW3 Architecture Project
Swiss Cottage Masterplan
Public Realm Development in London NW3, England, UK – by various architects
17 Mar 2006
Swiss Cottage Masterplan News
northwest London
Date: 2006
Design: Bennetts Associates ; Terry Farrell Architects – now Farrells with S&P Architects
buildings by Bennetts Associates & Farrells; landscaping by Gustafson Porter
Photos from Aug 2009 further down this page
Press Release from Camden Council, 17 March 2006
Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre will open on 18 March – marking the culmination of a project that has brought together a range of community facilities to create a new public space in north London.
Camden Council’s objective was to regenerate the huge site at Avenue Road, NW3, using high architectural quality and urban design to provide top-quality facilities and a public space that met the needs of the local community.
The £85m Swiss Cottage redevelopment integrates leisure, community and learning facilities with a park and housing.
Swiss Cottage Library by Basil Spence Architect
photo © Nick Weall
Farrells was the lead architect for the leisure centre, and collaborated with S&P Architects on the interior design. It brings together high quality architecture with modern leisure and sports facilities for the public.
The public will get their first chance to see Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre for themselves when the centre throws open its doors from 10am to 6pm on 18 March. As well as tours of the leisure centre, a day of arts and sports activities is also planned across the site to celebrate it opening. The public will be able to use the centre from 20 March.
The development of the whole site was Camden Council’s vision, but the council appointed Farrells as lead masterplanners. Among the site’s features are:
– The Basil Spence-designed Grade II listed Swiss Cottage Central Library, which has had an award-winning refurbishment
– A new park featuring a water feature designed by Gustafson Porter, with an all weather football pitch and children’s playground
– 42 units of affordable housing, including 22 homes built on top of Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre and nicknamed the ‘Street In The Sky’
– 131 units of private housing at Visage designed by architects S & P
– The new Hampstead Theatre, a new community centre, doctor’s surgery and Swiss Cottage Market.
The leisure centre, community centre, doctor’s surgery and affordable housing have all been built at no cost to Camden Council taxpayers through the public private partnership between the council and developers Barratt/Dawnay Day.
Camden Council’s Executive Member for Culture, Cllr Phil Turner, said:
“With its completion, Camden Council’s vision of regenerating Swiss Cottage with high-quality community, cultural and leisure facilities, has been realised.
“The leisure centre is a beautifully-designed building that will also provide first class sports and fitness amenities. The redevelopment has also provided affordable housing, a community centre, a doctor’s surgery and a refurbished library. I am particularly proud that these facilities have been delivered at good value for taxpayers.”
Sir Terry Farrell said:
“We have relished the opportunity to work with Camden Council to create a new cultural heart for Swiss Cottage. Our original concept for a civic-cultural centre at Swiss Cottage has been realised.
“The masterplan allocates the many user groups efficiently across the site, within well-formed open spaces – which are significantly larger than other prominent London squares and spaces such as Berkeley and Grosvenor Squares.
“New routes through the scheme for Adelaide Road, a street between the library and leisure building and a mews adjacent to the residential terrace have reinforced the site’s permeability, creating improved physical and visual links around the centre and surrounding areas.”
Swiss Cottage Masterplan
Bennetts Associates started planning the Hampstead Theatre in 1994 and proposed a new site to Camden Council that entailed replanning the whole block. To do this Bennetts Associates produced a masterplan for Swiss Cottage, leaving space for Camden Council to develop the sports centre at their request. Gustafson Porter won a competition to do the landscape and Farrells won a developer-led competition to do the housing and leisure centre. Ultimately they co-ordinated the junctions between their development and its surroundings but later resigned from the housing.
Bennetts Associates did all the public consultation on the masterplan in the mid-late’90s with Camden councillors in attendance
Location: Swiss Cottage, London, England, UK
Architecture in London
Contemporary Architecture in London
London Architecture Links – chronological list
Swiss Cottage Architecture, alphabetical:
Hampstead Theatre
2003
Design: Bennetts Associates
photographs © Nick Weall
photographs © Nick Weall
Swiss Cottage Park
Gustafson Porter
Swiss Cottage Park
Swiss Cottage Library originally ‘Swiss Cottage Swimming Baths’
1960
Basil Spence Architect
photos © Nick Weall
Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, Adelaide Road, London NW3
2006
Farrells
photos © Nick Weall
Facilities include swimming pools + indoor rock climbing
photos © Nick Weall
The Visage, Winchester Mews – Nexus One : Housing
2006
orig. Terry Farrell & Partners; then S&P Architects
photographs © Nick Weall
Winchester Place
–
photo © Nick Weall
Camden Council’s new leisure centre replaced an ageing ’60s building. Facilities include a County-standard 25m eight-lane pool with 200 spectator seats for competitions and a 20m training pool, a huge climbing wall, a gym that is around four times bigger than previously, a multi-purpose sports hall, squash courts, special purpose meeting rooms and a crèche, soft play area and café.
Buildings / photos for the Swiss Cottage Masterplan Architecture page welcome
