By this time of year, we have all had a chance to reflect, to look at the lessons learned last year and to make plans for the coming year. We, as architects, are no exception. Our projects may take three to four years from gestation to completion, but it's valuable to reflect on those things that worked and those aspects that didn’t – and to use the experience as a springboard for future projects.

When I reflect on the past year's projects, some of the most rewarding ones were those we'd been involved with from early on and had been able to influence the shaping of the brief – often bringing a new perspective to a client’s requirements.

Our role can be much more than simply assembling a building to a brief – satisfying as this can be. These early stages are where we can often add considerable value in terms of the social outputs of a particular project, bringing experience and fusing innovation with sound delivery of projects.

As we look forward to the coming year, it is exciting to consider the power of design in improving social values whether this is in leisure, sport, education, retail or even the workplace. Often the more complex and challenging the project, the richer the final outputs can be.

Of particular interest to us in the coming year is the number of projects where the power of sport is used in conjunction with education. In Holland at Den Haag, our Sports Campus Zuiderpark goes on site in March. The Sports Campus is seen as a leading platform for creating alliances between education, sport and the community – for both public and private partners – and elite sports facilities, providing the opportunity to train and develop talent, as well as create a positive momentum for sport. The Sports Campus is funded by two separate bodies: Gemeente Den Haag (Den Haag Council) which is funding a 3,500-seat arena with hospitality facilities; a multi-purpose sports hall for elite training and competition; a gymnastics hall; a national beach volleyball and a beach soccer centre; dance studios and a dojo. The De Haagse Hogeschool is funding the Academy for Sports Studies which will incorporate lecture theatres and teaching accommodation with four sports halls for community use and teaching.

Closer to home, we are working with football clubs using the power of sport to deliver an education programme to those from under-privileged backgrounds. Our schools team is working on an integrated leisure and UTC project while we continue to work with university estates departments to enhance the HE education experience for staff and students through innovative sporting projects.

The power of sport and leisure can be a valuable tool for social good across many sectors. These projects can be a little more complex and require both operational and design innovation, but the social outputs and value can be much greater than the sum of the parts.