Steel creating civic gateway to Downpatrick

Structural steelwork erection is nearing completion on the new £14.5M leisure centre for the Northern Ireland town of Downpatrick.

Located on one of the main routes into the town, the leisure centre is viewed as a gateway project and consequently it will feature high-quality finishes, such as anodized aluminium cladding, to create a standout building.

The 6,000m² centre — which will feature a 25m, six lane swimming pool — will also include a learning pool with movable floor, four court sports hall, multi-purpose rooms and a spa area. There will also be a state-of-the-art fitness suite with over 80 stations.

Steel has been primarily chosen for the parts of the structure where long spans and column-free spaces are necessary, such as the sports hall and the fitness suite.

Steelwork has also been used for its speed of construction, an attribute which has proven to be very useful.

“In many areas, we have steelwork and concreting teams both working at the same time, with one following on right behind the other. In these areas steelwork has allowed us to get zones of the building up quickly in readiness for the follow-on trades,” says Felix O’Hare Project Manager Paul Maginn.

Walter Watson is fabricating, supplying and erecting the steelwork for the project.