Smith Athletic Park Youth Soccer Campus
Township of Langley, British Colombia
In Collaboration with Acton Ostry Architects
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Field House: FIFA-Size Artificial Turf Field, Spectator Seats, Team Rooms, Training Rooms, Multipurpose Room, Classroom, 3-Outdoor Artificial Turf Fields, Players Shelters, Grandstands
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Structural: Fast + Epp
Mechanical: AME
Electrical: MCW
Civil / Landscape: Binnie
While especially dedicated to programs for the region’s youngest players, this Youth Soccer Campus for the Township of Langley, B.C., will also be a hub of social and recreational activity for the wider community. The project, which includes offices for Langley United, the township’s largest youth soccer organization, meets an urgent demand for more soccer facilities: just as Langley has become one of the fastest growing municipalities in Metropolitan Vancouver, enrolment in the LU club has increased from 1,100 to 6,000 kids over the last five years alone.
The project was phased to allow for the construction and use of three FIFA-sized outdoor pitches before the completion of the field house. Acting as a pavilion within the community soccer park, the field house is transparent along its south side, creating connections between its interior and the outdoor pitches, which also have sheltered team and viewing areas. New parking areas to the east and west lead via tree-lined walkways to the building entrances. Within the field house are another FIFA-sized pitch, team changerooms accessible from both inside and out, and other spaces that support training, competition, and broader public use.
Located in the northeast of Langley and surrounded by established residential neighbourhoods, the 20-acre site is serviced by new roads that fully connect it to the community. The new Smith Middle and High Schools will be directly east of the site, allowing students ready access to the facility. The site design also preserves and adds extensive tree canopies. New amenities include a perimeter multi-use recreational pathway that ties into the existing civic trail system.
The field house’s simple form references the agricultural buildings that characterize Langley Township. A continuous balcony along the south façade provides uninterrupted views of the exterior fields and the distant Mount Baker.
The interior features the expressive use of a composite Mass Timber and steel structural system. Glulam two-hinged arches clear span 80 meters over the indoor pitch, while continuous clerestories bring diffuse, glare-free daylight deep into the field house. Designed for energy efficiency, the space is naturally ventilated during three seasons of the year by means of intake louvres on the north façade.
