Rehau Authorised Partner White Underfloor Heating has teamed up once again with the design team which delivered the award winning Orchard Building at Stranmillis University College and installed almost 1000sq m of underfloor heating and 6000m of hot and cold water supply pipe at the newly opened Tollymore National Outdoor Centre.

The £5m centre, sited on the edge of the Mourne Mountains, is a dramatic new building designed for Sport Northern Ireland by Consarc Design Group Ltd, with detailed design by Knox & Clayton Architects and constructed as a design and build project by Glasgiven Contracts.

The main building features a roof finished in copper art membrane curved in three dimensions over the entire three storey structure which is supported by glue laminated timber beams. The building includes meeting areas, training rooms and residential accommodation.

Below this is a lower ground area housing changing rooms, shower facilities and a rolling pool for canoe training, with Rehau underfloor heating and pipework throughout supplied and installed by White Engineering.

The project has been built with close attention paid to its impact on the environment and includes both a biomass boiler as the heat source for the Rehau underfloor heating system and solar panels to provide heat for the hot water supply, as well as a rainwater recycling system. As a result, it has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating.

White Underfloor Heating was specified for the project by M&E consultants Taylor and Fegan, on the basis of the Strangford-based company’s long and successful track record on high profile projects such as the Orchard Building, University of Ulster Warwick Building and Victoria Square.

The National Outdoor Centre was officially opened at the end of June by the Minister of Culture Arts and Leisure Nelson McCausland MLA and charity canoeist and Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton. The centre is situated on the edge of the beautiful Mourne Mountains and now has a building that is iconic and yet sensitive to the local environment. The facilities are second to none and it provides a fit for purpose venue for leadership and skills training in a range of outdoor activities, including climbing, gorge walking, canoeing and mountain biking.