Padel Club Architects for Courts, Canopies and Clubhouses

Last updated October 2026

A padel club needs an architect who can fit courts, canopies, a clubhouse, parking and planting onto an awkward site, and draw it in a way the council and every consultant can work from. The architects in our team, one in London and one in the North, design the scheme inside the same team as the planning consultants and SustainPlan’s energy and carbon assessors, so the drawings, areas and reports agree from the first issue. We cover schemes across the UK and quote from your site.

What the architect delivers at each stage of a padel club project

Stage	Architect’s output
Site and feasibility	Site layout, court arrangement, access and parking, tree and boundary constraints
Design	Clubhouse plans, sections and elevations; court canopy design; heated-area decision with the energy team
Planning	Full drawing set and confirmed floor areas for every report
Council review	Revised drawings and areas, issued to every consultant at once
Construction	Information for Building Control and the contractor

What does a padel club architect actually do?

Fits the club onto the site, then draws it so it can be approved and built. On a padel scheme that means:

• arranging the courts so the open sides face away from homes, with space around each enclosure for access and lights
• placing the clubhouse where players can watch, where it shades rather than overheats, and where deliveries and parking work
• designing the court canopies to the heights padel needs: the LTA asks for at least 6m of clear height at the ends and 8m above the net
• producing confirmed floor areas that the energy, carbon and BREEAM reports all use

For the size of one court and the space for two or four, see padel court size and dimensions.

Why does it matter that the architect sits in the same team?

Because padel applications are slowed by drawings and reports that disagree. At Old Blues RFC in Merton, the council’s reviewer asked which areas counted where. The answer came from architect-confirmed areas, 1,728 m² of courts plus 196 m² of clubhouse, used in the whole life carbon assessment, with the 217 m² conditioned clubhouse in the energy model. When the architect and assessors share one set of areas, those questions are answered in days.

What design choices help a padel club through planning?

The ones that answer the council’s questions before they are asked:

• Open, unheated court halls with roofs and security shutters, keeping the conditioned building small
• An all-electric clubhouse with roof space for solar PV, which helps the padel energy statement
• Glazing and ventilation that avoid air conditioning, tested in the overheating model
• Lower-carbon structure, since the court frames and slabs carry most of the embodied carbon
• Planting and water, such as a living wall and rainwater reuse for irrigation

Old Blues used four of them, with the carbon hotspots flagged to the design team: open-sided courts roofed in grey corrugated steel with night shutters, an all-electric clubhouse with heat pumps and PV, solar-control glazing and night purge, and a living wall with rainwater reuse.

Do you work outside London?

Yes. We have an architect in London and one in the North, and we take schemes across the UK. Planning is still decided council by council, so your architect works with our planning consultants on what your council expects; our areas we cover pages show local decisions.

Can you work with my existing architect?

Ask us. If you already have an architect, we can slot SustainPlan’s energy, overheating, carbon and BREEAM work into your team and give them the inputs they need.

What do you need from me?

• The site address and a site plan or title plan
• How many courts, open or covered, and what the clubhouse needs to hold
• Any council feedback, pre-app response or planning history
• Your budget and opening target

What’s included

• Site layout and court arrangement
• Clubhouse and canopy design
• Planning drawings and confirmed areas
• Revisions during the council’s review
• Coordination with our planning consultants and SustainPlan

What’s not included

• Structural engineering, quoted separately
• Planning and Building Control fees
• Court kit specification, which our installers provide

Worked example: Old Blues RFC, Merton

Six covered padel courts and a clubhouse on a rugby club site, laid out around existing trees and an existing bund. The clubhouse holds reception and shop, warm-up area, viewing and seating, bar and kitchen, office and changing rooms. Drawings and results are in the Old Blues RFC padel case study.

Who does the work

Padel Court Build is a SustainPlan Ltd service. The architects in our team in London and the North design the scheme; we name each practice here once they confirm. Planning consultants, SustainPlan and our installers work from their drawings. See who we work with.

Often needed alongside

• Padel court planning permission: the planning support side of the team
• Padel court canopy: roofs over the courts and their costs
• Indoor padel centre: conversions of existing buildings

Sources

• LTA Padel Court Construction Guidance Note 2025 (canopy clear heights)
• Old Blues RFC: TM52 drawing notes, Energy Statement Rev 02, WLCA Rev 01