Nike and Palace Skateboards unveil transforming skatepark in Victorian public bathhouse
Architecture studio Jam has designed the Manor Place sports hub in south London for brands Nike and Palace Skateboards, which includes a skatepark that can be transformed into a football pitch.
Set to open on November 11, the sports hub by Jam occupies a 19th-century bathhouse and swimming pool complex near Elephant and Castle.
The centrepiece of Manor Place is a free-to-use skatepark in a building that formerly housed the men's swimming pool, which was paved over after the facility closed in the 1970s.
As part of the development, this pool was excavated to create an underground, three-a-side football pitch.
The central section of the skatepark can be mechanically raised on six chunky steel columns. Hinged cage-like panels drop down to form walls that surround the pitch, which has been named the Cage.
The skatepark was designed and constructed by specialist skatepark studio Betongpark, while the football pitch was created by Stage Services.
"Lev [Tanju] and I wanted to try and create something new, something that's really community-based," said Palace Skateboards co-founder Gareth Skewis.
"That's a word that is often bandied about without any real meaning behind it. I want Manor Place to be somewhere safe and friendly where people can skate, play football and discover new things – all just down the road from where Palace was founded."
Jam, which is led by Assemble co-founders Adam Willis and Joe Halligan, along with Dan Waterstone, formerly of Sergison Bates Architects, aimed to combine modern elements with the building's existing fabric.
"The design embraces the many layers of history the building has accumulated, both the historic and more recent, and like London itself, these layers define its character," said Halligan.
"The new interventions play on that, sometimes responding sensitively, sometimes pushing back in contrast or collage. Some parts feel as if they've always been there; others are completely distinct," he continued.
"Together they create a complex, layered narrative making a building that feels rich, diverse, and full of life."
Alongside the main football and skating hall, Jam has created six artist studios in the adjoining, former washhouse building. The freestanding studios, described as "lunar landers", are made from timber wrapped in crumpled reflective fabric.
Each of the studios is connected to the rooflights above with a chimney-like structure. The studios will be offered to emerging creatives for free on a nine-month rotating basis.
The entrance to Manor Place doubles as a flexible exhibition space for showcasing the work of emerging creatives. It can also be used as a retail space, with Nike and Palace Skateboarding releasing a co-branded range of clothing there.
Jam designed a range of plinths, benches, and display units from solid oiled sapele and whitewashed ash that contrast with the reclaimed iroko parquet floor for the space.
Elsewhere, Nike has collaborated with toy brand Lego to create a modular sports playground at a primary school in Shanghai.
It has also recently developed a motor-assisted running device and the "most aerodynamic speed suit in running history".
The photography is courtesy of Nike.
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