UK architects, FaulknerBrowns, have begun design work on a sports, leisure and residential scheme for the city of Apeldoorn in The Netherlands.

Alongside a multiplex cinema, shops, cafes, restaurants and residential units, the project includes the creation of a 100m euro sports centre, Omnisportscentrum, which will be a national centre of excellence for cycling, volleyball and athletics. The Dutch Athletics Federation, Dutch Cycling Federation and The Netherlands Olympic Committee are already targeting the venue for international events.

Facilities will include a 200m indoor athletics track, 50m swimming pool, 2,500 seat sports hall, a health and fitness club and sports medicine facilities as well as outdoor sports pitches, a 400m roller blading/ice skating rink for endurance training and a 6,000 seat velodrome for cycling, concerts and other entertainment events.

Construction of the Omnisportscentrum is expected to begin late this year.

Dutch developer and operator companies, Libema and Giesbers are part of the FaulknerBrowns team.

The company has also announced the signing this week of an 11m euro contract to provide 6,000sq m of sports and leisure facilities for the Municipality of Hellendoorm, also in The Netherlands.

FaulknerBrowns will create a leisure precinct by building competition, training and leisure pools as well as an indoor sports hall for football and hockey in a wooded ravine adjacent to existing outdoor pitches. A separate pool, below the seating for the main swimming pool is also proposed, for use by mentally and physically impaired swimmers, to provide more privacy.

The design follows the shape of the ravine and the theme of the centre’s surroundings is continued with the inclusion of a rock-climbing wall in the entrance atrium.