Under-used martial arts space turned into The Grid functional training area

A low-occupancy martial arts studio at the Barrhead Foundry leisure centre in Glasgow has been transformed into a high-energy functional training arena.

The new space, branded The Grid, will be used for individual and group training and will enhance the centre’s fitness offering for the community.

Barrhead Foundry is owned by East Renfrewshire Council, who appointed Alliance Leisure to undertake the project. Alliance then assembled a team of leisure specialists to execute the vision. These included leisure contractor Thomas Johnstone Ltd, Axiom Project Services, CD Architects, Indigo Fitness, Pulse Fitness and Hutchison Technologies.

The Grid took four weeks to complete and will be operated by East Renfrewshire Leisure and Culture Trust.

Jo Cameron, Delivery Manager, Alliance Leisure, explains: “As our first project with East Renfrewshire Council, this was an exciting opportunity showing the potential of transforming underutilised space into a thriving activity hub that would deliver significant value to the local community.

“We are looking forward to supporting the launch of this project and the growth in membership over the coming period.

Robert Hammond, Head of Operations at East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure, added: “Working with Alliance Leisure and the specialist partners to deliver our exciting new fitness space The Grid for Barrhead Foundry has been a great experience.

“From initially designing the space through to the delivery of the building works and fitout, this has been a smooth process and Alliance really looked at the finer details assisting with the fitness concept. The new training space will have a huge impact.”

The project was delivered through the UK Leisure Framework which is managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd.