Leisure – Rugby Football Union

The Rugby Football Union, Twickenham

wdl were appointed to create a groundbreaking health club at Twickenham Stadium, the home of British Rugby.

A five star design and fit out of a world-class three storey venue with a 14m high indoor climbing wall, 20m swimming pool, sauna, spa pool, spin studios, cardio gym, children’s area, treatment rooms, cafe, and hand-finished hardwood locker rooms.

With over 35,000 sq. ft. of space, The Virgin Active Classic Club at Twickenham Stadium was a collaboration of epic proportions and set new standards for the industry. The beginning of the project harks back to 2004 when the Rugby Football Union were seeking the right leisure provider for the fitness club build. Virgin Active’s inspiring fitness centre in South Africa then became the basis for the design brief at Twickenham. However, the job of interpreting the design brief based on the South African model, but with unique European twists, fell to the team at wdl commercial interior architects.

wdl’s design brief was to not only to create a new style of health club that catered for the needs of local residents in this upscale suburb of London, but also deliver a design that encompassed all the elements of sumptuous, members-only clubs with their classic style and tangible quality that reflected the Rugby Football Union brand.

From solid hard woods, leather chairs and hand cut tiles, wdl worked closely with the clients and contractor, ISG Cathedral, not just to progress the design as the project came to fruition over a number of years, but also to source specialist materials which, by the time of the build, had become scarce.

Due to the lengthy lead up to the project, the recession had an unforeseen impact in terms of sub-contractor resilience and indeed, the project lost its pool and sauna sub-contractor to liquidation, in the middle of the programme. This posed a unique set of problems that required creative thinking and the sourcing of new suppliers and materials.

Members have commented that the overall design of the leisure space is “very impressive” and have “nothing but praise” for the overall experience at the fitness club. Through proactive communication and problem solving, the entire project was completed on budget and five weeks early.