Oxhey Activity Park won the Project of the Year - Special Landscape Design Award and was shortlisted in the Design Excellence category...
One of the best skate parks in the UK, Oxhey Activity Park which is managed by Watford Borough Council, won the Project of the Year - Special Landscape Design Award and was shortlisted in the Design Excellence category at the Building Futures Awards this week (21 October).
The awards promote and celebrate schemes across Hertfordshire that are at the forefront of sustainable design and construction. A range of development types and scales are acknowledged, from individual buildings to more holistic large-scale developments which encompass built form and open spaces.
Working with Borras Construction Ltd and Freestyle Skateparks, Watford Borough Council completed the construction of Oxhey Activity Park in September 2020. The major landscape overhaul of previously unused brownfield site included extensive skate park facilities, play areas interspersed along a landscaped green corridor and sustainability at the heart of the café, which was clad in sustainable Siberian Larch.
Sustainable materials were used throughout the project build and this fabric first and low energy use design helps ensure that Oxhey Activity Park will remain a popular community space for all to enjoy, for many years to come. Low U-values, high airtightness, air source heat pumps and natural ventilation along with the green roof of the café were some of the methods use to increase the sustainability of this community hub.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “I am delighted that this major project led by Watford Borough Council has been recognised by the Building Futures judges. Oxhey Activity Park is already proving to be a very popular place to visit and our investment has transformed the area into an exciting new sport, play and leisure facility. These awards are well deserved recognition for all those who helped design and deliver these wonderful new facilities, with sustainability at the heart of the project.”
The judges’ comments at the Building Futures Award included: “This is clearly a very popular new park and an excellent use of a brownfield site. The park delivers exception social value for a broad range of users of all ages. It’s an excellent facility with many opportunities to engage with the activities or merely spectate, no matter what age you are. We liked the positioning of the café at one end and the car park at the other, connected by a well-considered series of spaces and a hierarchy of routes which lead you through the park and the many interconnected activity zones.”
This year also saw the open space being voted one of the top 25 parks in the UK and you can find out more on the Oxhey Activity Park website.
