
Steel offers the best and most cost effective method of achieving these requirements, for example through truss arrangements or steel girders. and to provide unimpeded views for spectators in stadia and arenas. Leisure buildings usually need large column-free spaces for pitches, courts, swimming pools, etc.

Large components such as trusses, can be assembled on the ground before being craned into position.Delivery and installation of elements are often carried out in a rapid time scale and with very little space available often confined by local buildings.Interfaces with following activities, such as electronic equipment and other advanced communication services.Ensuring that scheduling conflicts do not occur between different trades during construction and fit-out.The layout and components can be designed so that parallel rather than sequential installation can take place.The Emirates Stadium, Arsenal Football Club, Londonįurther examples of how construction time might be minimised are: The speed with which primary steel frames can be constructed and clad, allowing early commencement of the installation of services, has an important effect on the overall cost of the project. With many sports having a ‘closed’ part of the season or year, or important immovable annual events, speed of construction is often critical. In this context, an early return on investment is particularly important for leisure companies, local authorities and sports bodies and therefore speed of construction is vital.

The project time-scales are usually quite long including planning, design and construction stages. The construction of new leisure facilities and the refurbishment of older venues tend to be relatively large-scale projects, which require major up-front investment. All sports stadia use steel construction as part of the functional and architectural solution. It offers flexibility which can be very important for projects that are constrained by site or planning restrictions, or for venues which may wish to add to or reduce their overall capacity in the future, for example, grandstands for stadia hosting major sporting events. In addition, steel is a versatile and sustainable material which has an aesthetic appeal at both large and at small/detail-scale. This is primarily because it offers a cost-effective solution for bespoke, architecturally-driven solutions such as stadia, as well as cost effective generic designs such as portal-framed sports halls. The attributes of steel construction are well adapted for leisure facilities and are routinely used to optimise the design. (Image courtesy of Border Steelwork Structures Ltd and Kloeckner Metals UK Westok) Main Articles: The case for steel, Long-span beams, Cost of structural steelwork, Cost planning through design stages, Sustainability 3 Anatomy of a typical leisure building.Several types of leisure buildings share many features with other buildings, such as single-storey buildings, educational buildings, etc. This article addresses construction related issues associated with leisure buildings and particularly their structural forms and requirements. There is increasingly a focus on high levels of operational energy efficiency and use of renewable energy technologies in the leisure sector. Unlike other types of more generic buildings, leisure structures tend to be quite specialist and architecturally-driven with particular emphasis given to quality, function, flexibility and appearance. They have unique requirements within the construction sector, as most modern developments are now multi-functional and have an inherent requirement to be state-of-the-art and distinctive. Each project comes with its own challenges, opportunities and efficient structural solution. Leisure structures range in size from relatively small buildings, such as gymnasia, to larger buildings such as stadia which may be capable of holding 80,000 people. The UK sports and leisure sector is diverse with facilities of varying function and size being provided by local authorities, the education sector, sports bodies and the private sector. and are ideally suited to steel construction. Leisure buildings include sports arenas, stadia, swimming pools, theatres, etc.
