Tasked with articulating a new vision for their premises, the scheme for this private Tennis & Racquet Club centers around the membership, community, and racquet sports. The competition brief did not define a specific approach to renovation or new build but instead invited shortlisted participants to imagine new ways of merging function with design identity to refresh and re-organize the outdated and cramped facilities.
Three main design concepts were prioritized, influencing the approach to the new clubhouse. The first priority was interaction along with destination: the current clubhouse felt cramped and disconnected, and the flow and circulation of the new scheme ensures encounters between members and enables a sense of community. The second is visual connection: enabling members to view sports taking place from every location in the club, creating spaces that are permeable and porous for sightlines, and that natural light shines throughout. The third concept is indoor-outdoor connection: as tennis is the main focus of the club, centering it as a visual and physically accessible nucleus was key, along with other easily accessible outdoor space.
The resultant scheme married those three concepts into a T-shaped building, with an extended block coming out into the middle of the court area to reinforce connection with the courts, creating a feeling of immersion within the sport of tennis. Playing with compression and expansion, destinations are placed at either end of the building as well as throughout to engage with the full extent of its footprint, without having to walk far. Double-height spaces and glazed partitions like those of squash courts allow members in other areas such as the ground floor lobby and lounge to follow along with other activities in the building. An “annex” property on the opposite side of the street that houses administrative functions is reunited with the main building through an elevated walkway, maintaining architectural consistency and allowing for service and maintenance trucks to access the courts through the large gate underneath. The main entrance remains in the same location under this new bridge as a clubhouse-esque wink to the members but is newly defined and identified, opening up on the interior to a welcome desk and pro shop.
The proposal encapsulates a strong design identity through consistency of detail. Warm materials with an emphasis on wood are employed through the exterior and interior. The cladding is articulated with a matrix of vertical fins which provide an organizing system for facade, address concerns of solar gain, and mediate connection and privacy considerations in relation to the neighbouring buildings. The atmosphere eschews institutional with its casual and welcoming aesthetic, balancing a sense of history and character without being overly traditional. Playful details and motifs reminiscent of the sport are throughout, along with accents like plant material, shades of blue that match the Club’s logo, and historical memorabilia.
