Sitting on the edge of a conservation area on three sides, the current site is more geared towards cars than people and the existing buildings no longer meet the demand of Tetbury’s growing population. Despite this, the original Dolphins Hall and Tetbury Sports Pavilion still play a huge role in the day-to-day life of local people, which was recognised by the architects and accommodated into the new proposal.

This new planning consent follows a previously green-lit project on the same site but the ambitions for Dolphins Hall recreation centre have grown, and so the client reappointed Archio to unlock the development for multiple uses. The result is two low-slung buildings that draw upon the surrounding language of agricultural architecture. These will be completed – along with the homes – in a carefully planned series of phases to avoid disruption to the running of year-round communal activities on the site.

Following an extensive consultation process, it was agreed that the two community buildings should mimic the robust aesthetic of the nearby rural buildings, with a mixture of metal and timber cladding to pick up on local materials. The community hall faces the town and so its walls and roof will be a pale buff colour to help transition from Tetbury’s stone houses. The new youth and sports pavilion will use a dark green hue to create separate identity while also limiting the impact on the natural landscape. Both buildings also feature a double gable roofline that is typical to the area.

 “We’ve been on a long and important journey with the people of Tetbury. It took a lot of conversations between different groups but we have finally found a solution to meet everyone’s needs and now people will be able to play football, get married or just meet for a drink all in one area. These buildings will really sit at the heart of the local community and so it is an honour to have helped this become a reality.”

Mellis Haward, Archio

“As a charity, our aim is to provide recreational, leisure and sporting facilities to the people of Tetbury. Our volunteer trustees work hard to maintain this vital community asset, against a challenging economic outlook as well as a diverse and far-stretching set of requirements across our multiple user groups. Developing a strategy which allows us to incorporate all these requirements, while remaining economically viable moving forward, has certainly been a challenge! Working with Archio we were able to develop a phased strategy, coupled with a contemporary design, which addresses all of these challenges. Once built, the community will finally have the standard of facilities which it deserves.”

Jamie Ponting, Dolphins Hall

The project was featured in the Architect's Journal in December 2020.

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