Welcome to House of Sport

In August 2016, London Sport announced the ‘House of Sport’ project. In less than a year, it became reality. Read below what it means for the Capital and how I got the chance to get involved in this project.

London Sport aims to make London the #MostActiveCity in the world. In order to do this, the organisation has set five strategic objectives to help achieving this vision. Some of these are:

• Make it easier for Londoners to find the right activity for them, remain in it, and achieve their potential
• Create a bigger, better workforce to support activity
• Get more resources by making best use of current investment and securing more.

I see these as the foundations of House of Sport – a workspace for sport organisations, based in central London. London Sport has put collaboration at the heart of this project, trying to bring the stakeholders of the sports sector closer, with the aim of a common goal: making London the most physically active city in the world.

As soon as the development of House of Sport was completed, the Marketing and Communications department started to work on making the space feel like a home for residents and as a warm and welcoming venue for any guests. Thereby, London Sport started to work on the interior branding of House of Sport.

From the first week as a Marketing and Communications Intern at London Sport, I got the chance to support the completion of the project and work for a month to finalise the design and installation processes.

Who was involved?

The interior artwork of House of Sport was designed by Juice, a creative agency based in Sutton, Surrey, which ‘makes the ordinary extraordinary’. They have been a massive support during the completion of the project and the design team did a fantastic job with the creative elements. Juice worked along with KeyMT – a company specialised on large scale printing, who do the installations at Gatwick Airport. They have also contributed to the successful completion of the project, managing to complete the branding of the building in 4 days.

Design elements used

For the interior branding of House of Sport, the Marketing and Communications team of London Sport decided to go with a combination of several elements: style X, geometrics, and time-line. By using these, the project brings together a contemporary typography and illustrations that give the space an engaging personality.

The residents

House of Sport is the home of a wide range of organisations, including National, European and Global Governing Bodies and non-profit organisations, all working in the sport sector.

From my perspective, the last floor represents the highlight of the building. The space with floor to ceiling glass windows offers a nice view of the London skyline. With very dynamic and unique vibes, this part of House of Sport will be used as a space for events, open meetings, but also as an area for social activities accessible for all the residents.

About responsibility and my role in this project

The chance to be involved in this project was a massive opportunity for me. Because when I joined London Sport the project was ongoing, I had to act quickly and learn more about the project as I went. It was important to be able to adapt quickly as this way I got the chance to lead on the project for one week, close to the completion of the artwork.

The project gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of elements related to the marketing side of an interior design project, as this was the largest design and print job ever done by London Sport. My tasks included working with the creative agency to choose the designs, liaising with resident organisations to get approval for designs and working with constructors and printers to provide measurements for areas picked for branding. Furthermore, I learnt important project management lessons, but most of them were related to time management – as being responsive to enquiries and in some cases chasing responses is essential!

Now as it is fully branded, House of Sport is a lively space where change in the sport sector happens. It is great to have the chance to work here for a year and to be part of the process of making London the most physically active city in the world.

I will keep you posted with my other work for London Sport throughout my placement year. We have recently launched An Active Inclusive Capital, strategy that was my first project managed at London Sport end-to-end. For more information go here.