St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School Sports Performance Centre

Designed by Blight Rayner with Northrop Consulting Engineers and delivered by ATG Group, St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School Sports Performance Centre features a 96m-long multi-purpose indoor sports hall and education centre. A 50m swimming pool, learn-to-swim pool, and change facilities will follow.

The centre’s standout feature is its sustainable European timber structure, incorporating 135m³ of glue-laminated timber (GLT) portal frames spanning 23m to create an expansive, column-free, and adaptable space. Engineered from sustainable European timber, the GLT has a lower carbon footprint than conventional materials, consuming less energy and emitting fewer greenhouse gases. The considered use of GLT not only delivers environmental benefits but creates an inspiring atmosphere that enhances the learning and sporting experience. Theca Timber was engaged on short notice to detail the timber structure, providing expert advice and ensuring the project met the strict program. The team optimised the tender design, transforming it into the most efficient model possible using a modern Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) approach. Every element was fully modelled in 3D to virtually construct the structure before arriving on-site, ensuring seamless coordination. With 87% of the structure prefabricated, on-site assembly was faster, required less labour, and minimised dust, debris, and noise pollution compared to traditional methods. Theca Timber was requested to detail-design the engineered-timber structure of the sport hall within a short notice, providing a tight timetable and a strict milestone for the delivery to site. Our full team focused on the best way to transform the tender design into the most efficient model possible, delivering a full 3D model for production and assembly, to be used for coordination with all other trades. A total of 135m3 of Spruce Glulam were provided, for portals spanning 23mt, featuring tapered columns and beams.