Chapman Taylor has free rein at Sandown Park

Chapman Taylor has redesigned interiors at Sandown Park Racecourse, as part of a refurbishment programme to enable the racecourse to maximise its commercial potential and increase revenues through a variety of business and leisure activities.

The £20m refurbishment includes new conference, corporate hospitality, exhibition and restaurant facilities, as well as a new main entrance and improved car parking.

Chapman Taylor, which is also the appointed architect on the refurbishment, has redesigned the main stand building’s interiors and created interiors in the new Lawn Suite, which houses private boxes and a media centre. Work will be completed at the end of June.

Chapman Taylor director Henry Herzberg says, ‘Racecourses, like football grounds or other sporting venues, are under increasing pressure to develop their facilities and increase their revenue. The design challenge was to incorporate other facilities which do not damage the prime function of the building.’

The consultancy was briefed to create interiors that were neutral and hard wearing, as ‘the building had to respond to a high level of occupancy’, says Chapman Taylor director of interiors and graphics Hilary Clayton-Mitchell.

‘Outside companies hire facilities and want to dress them up with their own furniture and decorations, so the interiors have to be quite restrained and simple so they can be adapted for any occasion. We went for minimal furniture and soft colours and avoided creating anything over-imposing,’ she says.

‘The more exclusive areas, including the Royal Enclosure, got more of a bespoke treatment,’ she adds.

The consultancy also had to maintain the character and identity of the bar areas, which have names such as The Cavalry Bar and The Sports Bar, by creating a look that would relate to the names, says Clayton-Mitchell.

Chapman Taylor began work on the interiors in December following its appointment as architect in January 2000. It did not pitch for the interiors work.

Signage work was completed by Sandown’s in-house team.

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