About the Project

F51 (Urban Sports Park), Folkestone

‘If you can build this, you can build anything,’ declared the project architect. With the previous main contractor being shown the door after the groundworks, Nigel Griffiths swung into action to deliver the undeliverable. 

The technical challenge of a four-storey building cantilevering up and outward on all sides was massive. It was compounded by a decision in preconstruction to make the curtain walling weathertight. Nigel cost-effectively re-engineered the already designed structural frame so it could also support a weatherproofing layer behind the aluminium-mesh facade. 

The cantilevered construction ruled out scaffold for the facade installation. Nigel used a tower crane to bring the bespoke facade panels of the now far more complex cladding into position one at a time. Putting the 400+ pieces (each uniquely shaped and sized) of this giant jigsaw together efficiently and safely was an exercise in logistics excellence. 

Nigel was equally key in constructing the project’s centrepiece. This was a series of skating bowls on the first floor inspired by the empty swimming pools beloved of the famed skateboard pioneers of Los Angeles. His expertise in designing the polystyrene falsework ensured an economical and time-efficient approach. Each piece of the 300 tonnes of rebar used in the concrete bowls had to be shaped and positioned individually, and 200 cubic metres of concrete sprayed on top.