Football training facility

The design for the new National Football Development Centre in Wales, which forms part of the Wrexham Glyndwr University campus, usedTechnal’s Elegance 52 curtain wall system, STII doors and Dualframe 75 Si casement windows; fabricated and installed by Westmore Architectural.

The main entrance, meanwhile, unites the new structure with an existing building set in a historic location.

The development for the Football Association of Wales, in conjunction with the university, is located at Colliers Park and was originally built by Wrexham AFC on the site of the former Gresford Colliery; even being used in the past by Spanish giants FC Barcelona.

Now the greatly improved new facilities, including a Fifa-standard 3G pitch, learning suites and changing rooms, will be used both by sports science students and for training the country’s age group squads, as well as the full Welsh national side.

Locally based contractor Read Construction undertook the design and build contract which delivered the acclaimed new centre, while Cannock based Westmore Architectural was chosen to design, manufacture and install all of the Technal curtain walling, windows and doors.

Westmore Architectural’s package comprised 150m² of Elegance 52 curtain walling to form the faceted entrance screen, along with seven sets of the PAS 24 standard STII doors. The building’s requirements for weather performance and security are also aided by the specification of Dualframe 75 Si casement windows.

Director at Lawray Architects, David Hughes, said: “For the National Football Development Centre the new main entrance was a key feature element to the project, in that it forms the link between the existing building and a very large new-build structure. We achieved that with the drum, or rotunda element, where the curtain wall is used, and which has been very successful.”