Set in a beautiful riverside location near Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Longridge Boating Centre provides a range of exciting water sports and land-based activities aimed at young people of all abilities. Longridge currently runs programmes for more than 30,000 visitors per year. Many of the centre's buildings are in urgent need of restoration or replacement. Designed by Blue Forest in sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, the new training centre and proposed attached visitor centre will bring much-needed modern facilities to Longridge's unique site.
Blue Forest have recently completed the first phase of the new development, a three-storey training centre. The new building covers 560 m2 of floor space. It contains kitchens, meeting rooms, changing rooms, showers, toilets and a training hall. The structure is surrounded by a large deck and balcony area and is fully accessible for those with a disability, including full lift access to the first floor and external decks.
The building design incorporates a variety of green solutions to offer the best life-cycle value for the development. A rainwater harvesting solution will service the water requirements for the toilets and significantly reduce utility costs. Air-air heat pumps and a heat loss recovery system provide an efficient means of heating the buildings as well as adding to the environmental credentials of the new centre. The structure is made almost entirely from sustainably sourced (FSC or PEFC) certified softwood and stands on stilts at a height of 1.5m to overcome substantial flood risks arising from its riverside location and allowing flood waters to flow underneath.
"Feedback from all concerned with the project was extremely positive, you are to be complimented on the design, your professionalism, the hard work and attitude of your team and the ease of communication between Blue Forest and Longridge team members." - Howard Mann OBE, Chair of Longridge Trustee Board
