Squash Court Design: “Is it a big deal, or just four walls?

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When talking about squash courts and squash court design, people usually react surprised when they hear about all the little details that distinguish a first class squash court from a box with just 4 walls. At ASB, we have broken down the squash court design into various parts that form the ASB SystemSquashCourt.

So what are the factors that determine the quality of an excellent squash court?

These factors are:

Squash Court Design – the Walls: “What are the important factors?”

Starting with squash court wall design, it is important to come up with a concept that ensures best possible playing characteristics (no joints, flat and absolutely even surface) along with as little noise as possible, using material that is sustainable and offers best quality for the next 20 to 30 years. At ASB, we have reached this aim by combing all three factors. Using the large prefabricated elements is not only speeding up the installation process. Its main advantage is a solid squash court wall structure with the entire front wall and side wall each only consisting of three large pieces. There are no visible joints and the result is one big even and flat surface for consistent playing characteristics in all areas of the squash court wall.

Squash Court Design – the Floor: “What is the main difference?”

A part that is equally important for the squash court is the floor. There are various options for the squash court floor design. At ASB, our aim is to produce a design of the entire squash court system. In this design process, everything should be as well integrated as possible. Therefore, ASB has come up with a squash court floor design in which the floor is not stopping at the walls. The new design sees the squash court floor going under the walls.
This solves two common problems at once:

1) The gap between squash court wall and squash court floor disappears and the dirt and dust are not filling up this gap anymore, rendering the squash court quite dirty.
2) varying humidity that is causing the squash court floor to grow and contract, thus leading to the floor pushing against the wall and damaging both floor and wall are no longer a problem.
The floor is pushing under the wall and there is no more damage from growing floors (in case of high humidity etc.). This unique ASB squash court floor design once again helps in achieving the goal of a long lasting squash court system.

Here you find further details about the healthy floor with the intelligent substructure.

Squash Court Design – the Lightning: “Do you like playing in the dark?”

Having fun and proper competition in squash requires proper lighting. Therefore, the squash court lighting design, although sometimes underestimated, plays a huge role. After all, some people might ask: It’s just lights, what can go wrong? When designing the squash court lights, the design needs to make sure that the squash court is obviously well lit. However, it does not end there. What good does a light if it breaks every time it gets hit by a ball? At ASB, we have conceived a squash court lighting design that meets those two important requirements. The lights, either in classic or LED version are mounted to the ceiling in a protective shell that is resistant to heavy ball impact. At the same time, the lights are spread out over the ceiling in a pattern that lights up all areas of the court without any disturbing shadows.

Squash Court Design – the Ventilation: “Fresh air or used air?”

Last but not least, every squash court requires a proper and effective ventilation system. The squash court ventilation design needs to exchange the air in the court at least four times per hour. That means the squash court ventilation design has to be placed in an area where the flow of air is not disturbing the players and should ideally not generate any disturbing noise. Since each and every building is different, the best possible squash court ventilation design can vary from location to location. From our decades of experience, ASB can offer its client’s methods that can be adapted to the various building types and thus achieve the best squash court ventilation design.