St Sidwell’s Point – the UK’s first Passivhaus leisure centre

St Sidwell’s Point opened in Exeter in 2022, becoming the UK’s first Passivhaus leisure centre. It offers a wide range of facilities for the general public, including three swimming pools, spa facilities and a wide range of fitness spaces – including a 150-station gym. The £44m centre was designed by architects Space & Place to certified Passivhaus standards, reducing energy use by 70%. The dynamic, contemporary design maximizes natural daylight in its urban setting and prioritizes clean air, CO2 monitoring and reductions in indoor toxins, following the Institute of Building Biology (IBN) recommendations.

It is the first public swimming pool in the UK to fully meet Passivhaus standards and has set a new benchmark for sustainability. It is the most energy-efficient leisure centre in the UK, designed to last eighty years while adapting to future climate changes. By using 70% percent less energy than conventional centres, it also shortens the payback period amidst rising energy costs.

It boasts a wide range of energy-saving innovations, such as the water source heat pump that is used to recycle the waste heat from the backwash water to top up the water heating. Once the heat is taken out, the backwash water is also recycled to flush the building WCs, contributing to an estimated 50% in water savings.

While the upfront costs of designing and building to Passivhaus standards are often more expensive than other more traditional methods, due to the long-term energy savings that Passivhaus buildings bring, the payback period can be quick and the long-term savings significant.

St Sidwell’s Point was entirely funded by Exeter City Council as part of its £300m regeneration project, which will also bring updated housing, offices, restaurants and retail hubs to the city.

St Sidwell’s Point was designed and developed by a multi-disciplinary team

l Space & Place (architects) l ARUP (structures, civils & services) l Gale & Snowden (low energy & building biology consultants) l LDA (landscape) l Randall Simmonds LLP (cost consultant & client representative)

l Kier Construction (contractor) l TClarke (M&E sub-contractor) l FT Leisure (filtration) l Massey Cladding Solutions (cladding & roofing sub-contractor) l Dalesauna (spa) l Technogym (gym fit-out)