Chelsea Club and Chelsea World of Sport
Architect Fletcher Priest
Services engineers TME Engineers
Client Chelsea Village
The Chelsea Club provides private sports
facilities for its members, including a 25 m
level deck swimming pool, 200 m running
track at high level around the perimeter,
sports injury clinic, cardiovascular and aerobic
studios, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna; this is
associated with the Chelsea football ground at
Stamford Bridge. The top floor of the building
houses the Chelsea World of Sport, an
interactive exhibition explaining the
relationship between physiological
performance and sporting achievement. This is
linked by a bridge to the adjacent stadium.
The use and mass of the building are clearly
articulated. The main spaces are
accommodated with two 3-storey blocks
either side of a glazed link which brings
daylight into the heart of the building and
contains the central stair and glazed lift. High
levelbrise soleilprotect the south elevation
from the sun. Escape stairs, lifts and main
plant are concealed in louvred enclosures at
either end of the building.
The lighting brief was unusual in that due to
the need for privacy, views ‘out from’ and
‘into’ the facility were to be excluded, but the
impression of a daylit space was desired.
The exterior impression of the building is of
white wall cladding, whilst the interior
reminds one of the effect of Japanese shojiscreens, as a simple backround to the working
areas.
The appearance is gained from the use of
vandal-resistant, light- diffusing fibreglass
panels. This material, called ‘Kalwall’, which
spans from floor to ceiling around the
perimeter of the space allows daylight
through to all the major spaces of the interior
during the day, whilst at night it allows the
artificial light from the interior, to spill out a
glow to the exterior fac° ade, obviating the
need for any exterior floodlighting to register
the form of the building.
The artificial lighting had to provide
glarefree light to the interior, so as not to be
disturbing to the members, some of whom
may be carrying out exercises lying on their
backs looking upwards to the ceiling. The
solution adopted is to stretch membrane
ceilings between the beams, which are back lit
by concealed fluorescent lamps.
This solution, which is a method of daylight
linking, is very successful providing a light
level which can be varied from low for
exercises such as yoga, to high levels where
this is required. The combination of daylight
received through the ‘Kalwall’ panels and
variable artificial light from the stretched
membrane panels provides a calm soft light
with no hard shadows, ideal for the sporting
activities below.150 Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture
Section
Plan
Fletcher Priest, ArchitectsFletcher Priest, Architects