Buttress Architects | Merchant Taylors’ Schools, Crosby

Merchant Taylors' Schools, Crosby is a prestigious boys’ school located in a suburban residential area of Liverpool. Buttress designed a new sports centre for the school, creating an attractive building which design responds to its sensitive context.
Built next to listed buildings on the Boys’ School site in the residential area of Crosby, Liverpool, the principle design considerations were to create a modern, dramatic and welcoming sports centre that all Merchant Taylor Schools could use; without detracting from the school's historical context.

The new facility contained a sports hall for multi-games use, (including badminton, hockey, cricket, football, tennis, netball, basketball and trampolining), a separate indoor climbing wall and a fitness gym. Also provided is a dance/drama studio for teaching dance and performing arts, sports teaching classrooms, changing for indoor and outdoor sports, and other support facilities.
As the new sports centre was in a sensitive location, we needed to find a design solution that masked the volume and mass of this large new building. To do this the whole building is broken down visually by creating a number of offset planes to the front in stone and glass, and with a broken roofline to the sports hall. These design tactics all help to mask the size of the building and add interest and drama to its design.
The broken roof line is made up of a series of northlights which bring natural light and ventilation to the main sports hall. This is connected at first floor level to the open viewing gallery and central circulation spine, all of which are part of an environmental approach to bring fresh air and natural light into the sports spaces.

To allow for events and out of hours use, there is a large refreshments/multi-function room on the first floor with a terrace overlooking the School’s rugby and cricket pitches.