- O'Connell East Architects
Project Focus: Coventry Boys & Girls Club (CBGC)
Developer: Watkin Jones & Sons Ltd
Completed: 2019
O'Connell East were engaged by Watkin Jones in 2015 to prepare feasibility studies for the redevelopment of the original Coventry Boys and Girls Club (CBGC) and Coventry Working Men's Club sites on Whitefriars Lane. OEA worked closely with CBGC and WJ to identify suitable sites for relocation as well as incorporation within a mixed-use redevelopment.
The CBGC and Working Men's club premises together with adjacent terraced housing fronting Whitefriars Street were subsequently acquired as part of a wider redevelopment to provide a large student housing complex and associated facilities.
A three-storey building was incorporated within the re-development plans to provide new state-of-the art facilities for the CBCG and to secure the club's long term future within the City. The new building includes: a boxing gym, flexible multi-use spaces where members can play table tennis, study, listen to music or learn new skills together with a sports hall, and ground floor cafe.
The CBGC moved into their new home in 2019, and Coventry City Council have since granted planning permission for a rooftop football pitch.
Extract from Coventry Observer 9th October 2019:
Paul Williams, Finance Director at CBCG, said: “The move to the new premises has definitely sparked a rise in not just young visitors, but also other community groups who are coming in to use the space for a small fee which will benefit the club in the long-term.
“The new facilities now offer something for everyone and is a vital tool in helping young people in deprived areas of the city to stay out of trouble.
“We currently run four return bus trips into different areas of the city for youngsters to attend on a Friday evening to make sure we are making the facility as accessible as possible, and if this summer’s visitor numbers are anything to go by, then this building really has laid the long-term foundations for success.”
Full article available here:
https://www.covboysandgirlsclub.co.uk/