The Inman Initiative

The aim of this live project was to create a design proposal which enables the clients to develop the much-loved but dated Inman Pavilion into a modern, energy-efficient community centre which reflected the needs of its current users as well as strengthening the links with the wider Stocksbridge community.

The clients were members of the Garden Village Community Association which oversees the land of Oxley Park where the Inman Pavilion is located. Throughout the project, we worked with Beryl Sharp and Tony and Sylvia Hemsworth who were strong members of the Stocksbridge Community and attended classes at the Inman. Our clients also volunteered to save the Stocksbridge Leisure Centre in early 2013 when Sheffield Council cut all funding to the Centre and were keen to use the same motivation to save and protect the Inman for future generations of their community.

Through two focus groups with the main users of the Inman, including the various class teachers, we discussed the needs of the users. We also collected feedback postcards from the wider users of the site as well as engaging with the local public on the streets of Stocksbridge town centre. Their main problems included the need for a more efficient heating strategy, the need to modernise the facilities and a lack of a designed external space.

As a result of this feedback, we proposed three schemes to the clients at a user meeting in week 4. These proposals varied in scale, complexity and cost. This was well received by the users who asked us to propose a final scheme incorporating many of the ideas to form a single, phased design proposal.

Our final project explores this proposal. This design proposal entitled, ‘The Inman Initiative’, is intended to inform our clients of their options and will support them in their applications for external funding. They will also serve as a basis with which an appointed design team can work with.