Montem Ice Arena

Project Name: Montem Ice Arena, Slough
Client: Slough Borough Council by Slough Urban Renewal
Architect: Oobe
Contractor: Rochford Paving Ltd for Morgan Sindall
Value: £24,000
Completion Date: Feb 2018
Products Used: Moonstone Bench, Stone Bench

The Montem Ice Arena in Slough was first opened in 1980’s and was closed in 2016 due the the building’s decrepit state. The ice arena has now reopened to the public after an extensive refurbishment. The arena itself has been extended an extra 1,000m2 as part of the new two-storey extension that also holds the new entrance, climbing wall, gym and cafe.

The main entrance to the Ice Arena was also modernised to facilitate the pedestrians that are potential skaters, climbers and spectators.

Cllr Anderson - “The ice arena is just one of the new facilities spearheading our efforts to make Slough one of the most active towns in the country and is only the start of a major improvement in all our leisure centres, parks and open spaces that will allow people opportunities at every level to take control of their own health and wellbeing.”

The original design plans for the external space was to install brightly coloured red and yellow stone pebble like seating but following lengthy discussions with the clients and the Artform Team, it was recommended that the special painted colour finish was not suitable for the demands of location.

Over the course of the project budgets fluctuated and due to the common value engineering process, quantities were reduced to manage the overall budget. Any changes in the specification were managed by the Artform team to ensure that the end result matched the client’s ambitions.

Mike Goodall, Director Oobe - “We have worked with Artform Urban in the past and were extremely pleased with their reliability and high quality of products that they supplied. We are known for our creative and cutting-edge design with rigour and believe that Artform Urban are aligned with our own ethos and culture. We were looking for outdoor furniture that was very different, striking and could provide a contemporary feel to compliment a specialist theme, so something that was pretty unique.”

The products chosen included two Moonstone Benches and two Stone Benches. Artforms inhouse design team provided technical drawings to confirm that the units would fit within the space available, including the large foundations required for the heavy moonstone units.

Mike Goodall, Director Oobe - “The furniture looks fantastic in our scheme. We were aiming for a landscape that pulls visitors towards the building - the furniture not only provides a fantastic meeting point, but also creates a high visual impact, complementing the landscape and building.”

Specialist lifting equipment and was needed for the installation due to the 4.4tonne weight of the Moonstones. The Artform team, having installed Moonstone Benches previously relied on their knowledge to make the install as smooth as possible offering full assistance to the site team.

Artform were a part of the project from the very beginning and were available to tackle the challenges with their expertise. The recommendation of not implementing the painted finish was to protect the lifespan of the products and reduce maintenance requirements.

Outcome:

The new Ice Arena has improved a part of Slough by revitalising the space it inhabits to encourage the wider community to come together and be social.

Mike Goodall, Director Oobe - “One of the biggest drivers for the design was re-connecting the Arena to the wider community by creating a new arrival plaza - the form of which takes its cue from the elegant curves of an ice hockey sticks blade.”