Barn Elms

Teckwood distributor Specialised Timber Products (STP) has just supplied the Perennial range of fire rated composite cladding at Barn Elms on a new modern gymnasium and changing facilities. In a competitive pricing environment STP worked closely with the main contractor Tideway, to provide the cladding to specification and on time.

Barn Elms is an exciting open space in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located on the northerly loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham. The WWT London Wetland Centre lies to the north of the open space, now largely given over to sporting venues. The new state of the art changing room and gymnasium offers visitors bigger and better gym space plus a new onsite cafe. With construction now complete the next stages of the project will involve fitting out the café and landscaping around the building’s perimeter. But the gym and changing rooms are now open to the public

Part of the site at Barn Elms is being used for construction of the 25km tunnel, which will help tackle sewage overflowing into the River Thames. The new changing rooms are part of Tideway’s commitment to work closely with the local communities near its sites.

Barn Elms covers some 52 acres and offers residents, youth groups, clubs and local schools the opportunity to take part a huge range of sports and leisure activities. It offers grass pitches for rugby, football, cricket, Aussie rules and rounders as well as 16 tennis courts along with specialist facilities for archery, athletics, field events, a gym and boathouse for rowing. It also has artificial surfaces for netball and hockey.

After the London Olympics, and as part of the 2012 Games legacy, 1,000 tonnes of sand was transported from the beach volleyball venue in Horseguards Parade to Barn Elms to so that the sport would have a permanent home in the capital.

Barn Elms is a superb sports venue with really excellent facilities, its first class facilities can only help to encourage more people, especially younger people, to get involved in sports and hopefully spur them on to become the sports and Olympic stars of the future.

There are facilities for different amateur sports such as football, rugby, tennis, softball and cricket, and an athletics track. It is also the home ground for Barnes Eagles FC, Stonewall FC, London French RFC and London Exiles RFC.

Barn Elms was originally the manor house of Barnes and was for centuries the property of the dean and chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral. Elizabeth I bought the lease in 1579 for Sir Francis Walsingham, as a reward for services rendered to the Crown, and she is recorded as visiting him there on three occasions.

The grounds were acquired for playing fields in 1949. In 1957 Barn Elms School Sports Centre was built by the LCC Architects Department east of the lake, part of its policy of laying out sports fields in and around London so that secondary school children could play games on grass.

Who are Specialised Timber Products? STP were founded in 1998 and they are one of the UK’s leading specialist supplier of cladding and decking solutions, firmly established as the one-stop shop for high-performance, standard and bespoke products. The company continues to advise a wide range of customers on how to get the best from timber and they pride themselves on being able to offer advice, value engineering and specialist products to ensure they meet every clients requirement.

Specialised Timber Products highly experienced team are available to ensure that you receive the highest levels of customer service and ensuring that you have a wealth of experience at your disposal. Specialised Timber is able to supply certified materials from CSA, FSC, PEFC and SFI certified sources which have been fully approved by DEFRA. This covers all legal, sustainable and certification requirements to allow architects to specify products with total confidence.

Teckwood are delighted to have been a part of this project, sharing many values with Barn Elms and their focus on reducing environmental impact. Proud to feature in many beautiful builds, Teckwood are dedicated to supplying quality composite cladding to create striking sustainable façades that are attractive and durable and ensure longevity.

Interested in fire rated composite timber cladding for yourself? Contact our specialists.