Technogym
Technogym
Technogym

Promotional feature

Createability

Bringing back the baths - The iconic City Baths in Newcastle have reopened to the public following complete restoration by Createability


Design and construction specialist Createability has finished work on the iconic City Baths in Newcastle, UK. Working together with Napper Architects, the firm has overseen a £7.5m redevelopment of the historic Turkish baths for client Fusion Lifestyle, which manages the facility on behalf of Newcastle City Council. The three-year project has brought the once-neglected Grade II-listed building – which had sat closed since 2013 – back to life.

Planning the works
Fusion Lifestyle won the tender to restore the baths in 2016. Anthony Cawley, Fusion’s Operations Director, says the project’s focus from the very start was to keep the building’s original features and retain its history – but also to add a modern fitness and wellness element.

“We’ve managed to restore a building of outstanding beauty to what it had always been – and that’s what makes it such a special project,” Cawley says.

After initial work with Napper Architects, Fusion brought in Createability to help plan the construction process and add detail to the plans. 

Work included the restoration of the 25m ‘ladies’’ swimming pool and transforming the ‘men’s’ 25m pool into a gym space and fitness studios. The historic Turkish bathing areas – featuring six separate areas – have also been restored, while a day spa has been added to create a modern wellness offering.

“Once we came on board, we went through what was needed and value engineered the project,” says Ian Cotgrave, Createability MD. “We were responsible for every aspect of the works inside the building – the restoration and all construction work. The great thing is that we managed to deliver the project to the price we initially calculated.

“It has been a unique project – not least because there aren’t many Turkish Baths left in the UK.“

A mix of old and new
At the heart of the project have been the Turkish bathing areas and the two swimming pools. 

“The 25 metre former ladies’ pool is now back to its former glory,” Cotgrave says. “We managed to retain all of its original architectural features – even the tiling, which we painfully restored. Some of the features would be hard to repeat using modern methods, so it would’ve been a shame to lose that heritage.”

The building’s Grade II-listed status meant there were limits to how much the project team could change structurally. This resulted in innovative planning work to provide the building with the modern facilities it needed. 

These included an entire gym and group exercise studios being created inside another swimming pool, which had originally acted as the men’s pool. “The former ladies pool is now for swimming, while the men’s pool has been completely filled in and decked over to create a fitness area and the two-level studios,” Cotgrave says. He names the gym space as one of his favourite design aspects of the project. “When you look down at the gym space from the balcony, the studio looks like it’s floating in mid air,” he says.

Retaining history
Cawley says the partnership between the three companies has ensured the project has been delivered on time and on budget. “Createability and Napper Architects have been unbelievable,” Cawley says. “We told them what we wanted, they took it all on board, designed it and built it all.”

Focusing on history

The City Baths are one of only 11 Turkish baths in operation across the UK. Originally designed by architects Nicholas & Dixon-Spain, the Art Deco facility first opened in 1928. “The focus of the project has very much been on bringing a historic building back to life and securing its future by reconfiguring it to ensure it can generate income and becomes sustainable,” says Createability MD Ian Cotgrave.

Economic sustainability

As well as restoring the building to its former glory, the project has focused on securing its operational success. “We need to make the building economically viable, so we can keep it open,” Cawley says. “The reason it closed down in the first place was because it wasn’t sustainable. The work Createability has done to create fantastic, modern facilities will help with that – the more people we can get to use the facility, the better.”

Gallery
Click on an image to open the image gallery
company profile
Company profile: Myrtha Wellness
Myrtha Pools was founded in 1961 in Italy by the engineer Giorgio Colletto and through research and development has become leader in the swimming pool industry and has created an international brand.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
features
The two firms collaborated on the design of the Dubai World Expo 2020 bid master plan
Bill HellmuthCEO, HOK Sport + Recreation +, Entertainment
"It’s a great time to be back in sports – it’s a piece of our practice we’ve sorely missed"

HOK re-enters the sports market

The Serial Classic exhibit includes a collection of cars reworked by a variety of artists
Rem Koolhaas Founder, OMA
"The complexity of the architecture will create a positive tension between the art and the architecture"

Architectural practice OMA have converted a former industrial complex in Milan, Italy, into a new home for designer Miuccia Prada’s Fondazione Prada. We speak to OMA's founder, Rem Koolhaas

Venice Biennale president Paolo Baratta said design and civil society must be more closely connected
"Freespace describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture’s agenda"

On the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale theme

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
One of the bedrooms
Lund has worked as a designer for Soho House since 2014. She co-led the design of The Ned
"My favourite part of the building is the original bank vault, in the belly of the building. It once stored gold bullion deposits of £335m"

On the challenges of creating The Ned

Morphosis designed a new entrance for the 7132 Hotel. An oculus at the centre brightens the drop-off area
Thom Mayne
"Both good design & really bad design can be interesting"

On why he’s building a skyscraper next to Switzerland’s most famous thermal baths

UNStudio’s Green Spine comprises two towers with twisting geometric facades
Bos studied history of art in London and urban and regional planning at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands
"I like art that is against the mainstream, slightly off, with a twist"

UNStudio’s co-founder on the unexpected challenges of designing Australia’s tallest skyscraper

features
Dublin-born David Collins moved to London in the 1980s and founded David Collins Studio in 1985
"The Studio is such a big part of our lives, that it just continued, albeit through a very challenging period"

David Collins was behind the design of many of London’s hottest destinations Today his legacy lives on via the studio’s glamorous international projects

The Markthal Rotterdam by MVRDV functions as a market hall, apartment building and a vast public space. Since opening in 2014, it has won numerous awards
Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries founders of MVRDV
"We take a perfectly normal thing, that's been done very often in a certain way, and we start to question that. Why on earth should we make every new shopping mall, or office or tennis court in the same way?” says Nathalie de Vries."

From flooding old shopping malls to revolutionising housing, MVRDV’s founders like to do things differently

The installation uses new liquid crystal technology developed by researchers to create the rainbow
The Van Gogh Cycle Path runs from where Vincent Van Gogh lived between 1883 and 1885
"This is not a projection or a slide – it’s a real rainbow"

His Rainbow Station light installation

cladkit product news
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
cladkit product news
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
cladkit product news
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
x
Email this to a friend or colleague
I am happy for Leisure Media to contact me occasionally by email and understand that I can opt out at any time.
Promotional feature: Createability
How @NapperArchitect @Fusion_LS and Creatability brought Newcastle's iconic City Baths back to life @TheCityBaths
Technogym
Technogym