Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, London

Architect	Terry Farrell
Date Built	2004
Location	Adelaide Road, Camden
Description
The Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre sits beside Sir Basil Spence's Library on Adelaide Road. The site used to be occupied by a leisure centre designed by Spence but it was demolished to make way for this more modern version that offers, "everything from swimming and climbing to an inviting café." Terry Farrell's website adds that, "the development is completely transparent. This allows the swimming pools, state of the art gyms and sports halls to be visible from the exterior providing animated and vibrant views of the building during the day and night. This scheme is an innovative community based leisure complex providing genuine mixed use and shared amenities that has become a landmark in the immediate and local area. ... The lower ground floor contains the sports hall, changing rooms and the swimming pools. Using a natural form of spectator seating, the large glass facade is completely glazed to let passers by enjoy and connect with the activities of the pool and the gym beyond. The compact planning of the leisure centre’s overall height remains comparable to the adjoining library. The entrance facade and link are light, transparent expressions of steel and glass, signalling a welcome entrance to both the leisure centre and library." A climbing wall can be viewed through the glass facade on the Adelaide Road side of the building.