Rooftop MUGA maximises space at West Bromwich UTC

By Zaun LTD
schedule8th Sep 16

A university technical college with a rooftop games area has embarked on its second academic year in operation.

Health Futures University Technical College (HFUTC) in Sandwell is on such a tight town centre site in West Bromwich that architects designed the MUGA on top of one of the college rooves.

That made the specification of effective perimeter fencing more critical to avoid the constant escape of balls from the playing surface down onto the ground far below.

This was installed by Dawn Fencing Limited of Leigh, which has been going more than 30 years and is the only fencing contractor dedicated solely to sports.

They chose 4m-high Duo8 SuperRebound twin horizontal wire fencing panels from Zaun, which are highly durable, low maintenance, ‘graffiti-proof’ and offer great rebound properties similar to a wall.

The court includes six integral floodlight posts in the fence line and one pair of double leaf gates and three single gates.

HFUTC offers educational experiences and opportunities to 14-19 year olds from across the Sandwell borough in a unique partnership with the University of WolverhamptonWest Midlands Ambulance Service NHS TrustCo-operative Pharmacy and 21 partner employers in health, education and the public sector.

BAM Construction built the £9 million 5,390 sq m building, its 16th UTC. It contains four storeys of learning space for 600 pupils, including laboratories, a visualisation suite, a hospital teaching ward and the rooftop MUGA.

A tenth of the building’s energy come from renewables, with photovoltaic cells used for solar power.