YMCA Newark

The new YMCA Community and Activity Village in Newark, Nottinghamshire is the first project of its kind to be constructed in the UK. The innovative community and activity centre provides a mix of facilities from sports and hospitality to training and childcare, with the building ranging in height from two to three storeys and comprising some 59,000 square feet of usable space.

The core services available have been separated into three distinct zones – hospitality, education, and activity. The first area includes a café and function room, with the educational facilities available including classrooms and teaching areas for both adults and children. The activity zone features a gym and multi-purpose activity space as well as the Climbing Hall. This includes a 15m Olympic standard climbing wall that rises to the full height of the three-storey building and is the largest of its kind in the UK.

The building also features a range of aluminium fenestration solutions supplied by Senior.

Close collaboration and early engagement within the supply chain was key to the successful delivery of this multi-purpose building. The project saw Senior’s architectural advisor Michael Reynolds work alongside Rayner Davies Architects and main contractor R G Carter Construction to design and provide suitable aluminium doors, windows and curtain wall solutions which were fabricated and installed by Acorn Aluminium.

The striking main entrance of the building has been created using Senior’s SF52 aluminium curtain wall system which incorporates SPW501 thermally broken doors complete with automatic swing operators. A key feature of the north elevation entrance is the extra-large PURe® commercial door measuring 2920mm x 3045mm. Across the remaining elevations, Senior’s curtain wall system has been further complemented by the incorporation of SPW600e aluminium windows, specified as both insert vents and fixed light windows. Senior’s versatile SPW501 commercial doors have also been used throughout and on the west elevation, Senior’s patented PURe® SLIDE aluminium doors provide additional access.