At Colin Armstrong Architects, we are proud to have designed the new ICT Community Hub in Inverness, a project created to give something lasting back to the city and wider Highlands. 

Located beside Inverness Royal Academy on the former playing fields at Slackbuie, the hub has transformed previously underused land into a vibrant new base for sport, learning and community activity. The wider site includes new grass pitches and improved drainage, helping unlock a major community asset for year-round use. 

Designed Around Community Use 

From the outset, the brief was about far more than a football pavilion. The ambition was to create a welcoming, accessible and flexible building that could support a wide range of users; from school pupils and youth footballers to walking football groups, para sport participants, volunteers and community organisations. 

The completed building includes: 

• Modern changing accommodation
• Meeting and teaching spaces
• Offices for the Trust’s community team
• Kitchen and support facilities
• Fully accessible design throughout
• A practical, durable layout suited to heavy daily use  

The result is a building that works equally well on matchdays, school days and community programme days. 

Architecture with Purpose 

Community buildings succeed when they are easy to use, robust to maintain and welcoming to everyone who enters. Our approach focused on clear circulation, strong visual identity and efficient, practical spaces that can adapt over time. 

Externally, the building presents a confident civic presence within the wider sports campus. Internally, natural light, simple materials and uncluttered planning help create a positive environment for users of all ages. 

This is architecture designed not for show, but for long-term value. 

Supporting Health, Inclusion and Opportunity 

The ICT Trust has built an outstanding reputation for using sport as a catalyst for positive change. Their programmes support physical health, mental wellbeing, employability, youth engagement and social connection across Inverness and beyond. 

The new hub gives those programmes a permanent home and the facilities needed to grow further. It provides a modern, practical base from which community activity can continue to expand for many years to come. 

Regeneration Through Smart Investment 

Projects like this demonstrate what can happen when vision, partnership and targeted investment come together. A previously neglected site has been reactivated into a valuable public resource that will benefit the community for decades. 

For us as architects, these are the projects that matter most; buildings that improve everyday life, create opportunity and strengthen place.