Hydrotherapy Pool, Berkshire A Project By: IB Architects Location:  Thatcham, Berkshire Client:  West Berkshire Therapy Centre Status:  Planning A new purpose‑built hydrotherapy facility at Dunston Park will significantly expand the services of the West Berkshire Therapy Centre, providing an inclusive, accessible environment for rehabilitation and long‑term therapeutic care while integrating sensitively into a residential parkland setting. The brief was to design a specialist hydrotherapy building to complement the Centre’s existing gym provision, enabling the charity to meet growing demand for therapy services for people with neurological conditions, mobility impairments and chronic health needs. The facility needed to be fully accessible, clinically robust and welcoming, while remaining modest in scale and appropriate to its park‑edge location. A key challenge was accommodating specialist internal requirements including a heated pool, accessible changing facilities and quiet consultation spaces within a compact single‑storey form. The site lies within Dunston Park at the edge of a residential area characterised by low‑rise red brick buildings. Planning considerations included maintaining the character of the park, safeguarding existing public footpaths that cross the site, retaining important trees and hedgerows, and managing the visual impact of a new building within an open green setting. The proposal also needed to balance … Continue reading A New Hydrotherapy Landmark