The community and sports centre encapsulates and demonstrates inclusiveness, catering for all abilities, ages, and cultures
While sport and physical activity form the foundation of the centre with five indoor courts, show court seating and state of the art sports technology, the facility is in equal parts a community space, offering meeting rooms, corporate facilities and function spaces for community groups and other events where people can connect — providing a multi-use space for the City of Port Adelaide Enfield community.
The design philosophy examines the universal notion of light and its associated health benefits, both physical and mental
The facades playfully looks at light bending and refracting around the building. This refracted light is pixelated, referencing the digitalisation of contemporary life.
Internally, a central spine provides access to courts, meeting rooms and amenities, with bold graphics leading you through the facility
The pre-project budget only allowed for a four court facility when all council data showed they required a five court facility to meet user needs. Working with Council and the Cost Manager, it was demonstrated that additional up front costs would be more cost effective than building the fifth court at a later stage, which would incur additional start up costs and down time for the facility with additional construction.
Three community courts run off the entrance to the facility, with two show courts twisted off to the side. Maximising the potential usage of the space, the show courts can be transformed into a stadium environment that seats up to 1000 people, with two function spaces overlooking.
With Disability Sports as a key stakeholder, the design accommodates users with a disability with fully accessible change rooms and heating to all courts for quadriplegic participation
"Through the life cycle of the project, I found S9 to be flexible, innovative, collaborative and very responsive when it came to delivering on the project brief. As a result, The Lights is now a vibrant place where people connect, learn and participate in activities that improve their physical and mental wellbeing. While sport and physical activity form the foundation of the centre with five multipurpose indoor courts, show court seating and state of the art sports technology, it also provides community spaces where people can connect including a café, library outlet, and well-designed community and function rooms."
Mark Buckerfield
City of Port Adelaide Enfield
The Lights promotes a healthy, active lifestyle and is a hub for the Port Adelaide Enfield community
Early in the project council developed a draft programming schedule for the facility which included potential user groups.
This was a useful tool to assist in the development of the facility with some of the community programs now running at the facility including Indian Dancing Groups, Church Services, Mums and Bubs Classes and Yoga.
