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by Sean Hill on Jul 14, 2025
We’ve just been appointed to design something quietly ambitious for Sutton Churches Tennis Club.
It started, as these things often do, with a feeling.
That the old pavilion—faithful as it had been—was no longer fit for purpose. That the club had outgrown it. Not just in numbers, but in spirit. In energy. In what it aspired to be.
It wasn’t about grandeur. It wasn’t about trends. It wasn’t even about tennis, not entirely.
It was about creating a place that would serve the club’s people—now, and long into the future.
A place that would match the heart of this club.
The existing timber-clad pavilion at Sutton Churches Tennis Club — a well-worn home ready for renewal.
So the questions began.
What do we need from a new pavilion?
What kind of building supports life—not just functionally, but emotionally?
What kind of space becomes part of your muscle memory, as familiar as your backhand?
What makes it future-proof? Not in some distant, theoretical way. But in a way that means this building still feels right in 2075. When those who first imagined it have long since passed on the keys, and a new generation is sipping tea or enjoying a cold beer on the deck, watching their grandchildren serve for match point.
The club started asking questions like this.
Could a building like this be generous? Could it be open, light-filled, and warm in every sense?
Could it serve Finals Day and Christmas drinks, but also a midweek coaching session and a five-minute shelter from the rain?
Could it feel like it had always been there, and still be unmistakably now?
Could it keep heat in during the winter, let heat out in the summer, and ask little of the planet while doing so?
Could we build it once—and build it well enough that it wouldn’t need constant fixing, rethinking, patching?
Could it feel like the club’s values made manifest?
Community. Companionship. Competition. That’s the club motto. Could you see that in the brickwork? Feel it in the joinery?
And so a vision began to form.
Not loud, not shouty. But clear. Thoughtful.
A place where 50 people could gather. Or three. Where you could open the doors wide on a warm day and let the clubhouse spill outside. Where you could close it up again, tight and secure, with no padlocks and no fuss.
Where the changing rooms didn’t require a detour through the middle of a social. Where a parent could change their baby in comfort. Where the floors were cleanable, the cupboards lockable, the fridge cold and reliable.
Where you could sit with your friends and look out over the courts. Or pop in from the outside just to use the loo. Or refill your bottle at a drinking fountain that wasn’t stuck in a corner of the main room.
Where garden chairs had a home when they weren’t in use. Where bikes could be parked, compost could be made, waste could be sorted. Where solar panels quietly did their job and a heat pump worked away in the background. Where the floodlights didn’t require a treasure map to find the switch.
Where the history of the club—the plaques, the stories, the black-and-white photos—had a proper place.
Not a museum. Not a shrine. Just a nod. A thank you.
We’ve just been appointed to design this new pavilion.
We’ve started drawing. But more than that—we’ve started listening. Because that’s what this project really demands.
It’s not just about lines on paper. It’s about people.
It’s about thinking deeply about how a space works. Where people come in, where they hang their coat, where they stop to say hello. It’s about thresholds. Views. Natural light. The feel of timber beneath your hand. The way a roof overhang makes you feel looked after.
It’s about asking:
Where will people talk? Where will they gather? Where will they stand to applaud?
How do you make a space that includes everyone—no matter their age, mobility, or background?
How do you make it feel safe, and secure, but not fortress-like?
How do you make it useful… but joyful too?
This isn’t a big, glossy project. It’s not the kind of thing that gets written up in the Sunday supplements. And that’s exactly why it matters so much.
Because community spaces like this—if they’re well designed—change how people feel about where they live.
They give people pride. They create stories. They make things possible.
They don't need to be big. They just need to be right.
So now the real work begins.
We’ll be looking at layouts. Testing ideas. Considering raised versus lowered approaches. Planning flush thresholds and covered outdoor seating. Talking to the club about sound, about storage, about the right number of loos. We’ll think about how it performs in the heat of July and the frost of January. We’ll make space for floodlight meters, plant rooms, mop cupboards and honour boards. All of it matters.
We’ll work with a Quantity Surveyor from the early stages to make sure the budget supports the vision. We’ll explore three distinct options for design—so the club can secure funding and make the right decisions for the long term.
And we’ll keep asking questions, just like the club did.
Because the right questions shape the best buildings.
Watch this space.
We’re designing a place where matches will be played. Tea will be poured. Old friends will meet. New friendships will begin.
It might just be a building.
But it will mean a lot.
Building for the club, for the community, for the future
At RISE, we believe that designing a new pavilion isn’t just about bricks and budgets. It’s about shaping a place that serves people for generations. A space that works hard and feels effortless. That welcomes, supports, and inspires.
This isn’t just another clubhouse. It’s a chance to build a legacy — one that celebrates everything Sutton Churches Tennis Club stands for.
Thinking of reimagining your own community space?
Let’s talk about how good design can serve not just today, but the next 50 years.
→ Email us at architects@risedesignstudio.co.uk
→ Or call the studio on 020 3947 5886
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