Sports Activated Community Regeneration
The Urban Play Lab explores sports-activated community regeneration as a powerful tool to revive underused urban spaces. Set within a neglected part of Manchester, the project aims to stitch the community back together through layered forms of public engagement that centre around play, movement, and grassroots sports.
The design journey began with a series of strategic explorations on how sports can act as catalysts for urban renewal. This led to the formation of a progressive regeneration playbook, where each spatial intervention supports the next, from informal pickup courts that welcome spontaneous play, to structured, bookable spaces that promote consistent use, culminating in a multi-storey Urban Play Lab topped with a mini stadium. This final anchor provides a neutral, elevated arena for grassroots clubs and local schools to compete on an aspirational stage, fostering pride, participation, and progression.
The building and site is organised into ‘Play’ and ‘Pause’ zones, balancing high-energy spaces with areas for reflection and social interaction. Through careful programming and sequencing, the project invites people of all ages and abilities to connect through sport, whether actively participating or passively engaging.
Ultimately, The Urban Play Lab proposes more than a building, it’s a civic platform for opportunity, interaction, and growth, redefining how architecture can empower communities through the universal language of sport.
