Sports architects Frieder Roskam, Bill Stonor and Geraint John are among the first inductees to the newly established IAKS Hall of Fame for leisure architects.

Launched to mark the 50th anniversary of IAKS (International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities), the Hall of Fame honours architects, designers and those working in leisure for their services to architecture and facility development.

In total, 12 people – most of them architects – were named as the first members of the exclusive group, all who have connections to IAKS.

Bill Stonor – who together with Harry Faulkner-Brown set up his own practice in 1962 and has been an active IAKS member for decades – described his inclusion as a privilege.

“After 54 years with FaulknerBrowns Architects, pushing the frontiers in sports architecture in the UK and beyond, it is indeed an honour to enter the IAKS Hall of Fame alongside the authors of the 1960s Golden Plan for Sport for Germany,” he said, referring to the inclusion of Gert Abelbe and Willi Weyer.

The announcement of the Hall of Fame was made at the IAKS Congress which is taking place in Cologne this week.

Described as the “who’s who of the sports facility industry”, the event this year has attracted nearly 500 attendees from 50 countries.

The full list of the Hall of Fame inductees:

Professor Frieder Roskam

Roskam devoted his entire life to the fields of sports facility development and sports architecture and initiated the founding of IAKS in 1965. Roskam was the secretary general and executive board member of IAKS from the outset and built it up into an internationally recognised association of experts.

Bill Stonor

Stonor pioneered the development of community and university sports facilities in the UK during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and majored in the design of international venues in the 1990s and 2000s. He has designed many ground-breaking and innovative sports and leisure projects, including the UK’s first public leisure pool, first leisure ice arena, the renowned Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield and four major venues for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Geraint John

John has a long and distinguished career in the design of international sports facilities and is a former chief architect and head of the technical unit at Great Britain Sports Council (now UK Sport). A senior adviser to global sports design practice Populous since 1996, John was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2014 for outstanding services to the Olympic Movement.

Gert Abelbe

Abelbe, the former general manager of the German Olympic Society, was integral to the development and realisation of Germany’s “Golden Plan” for sports facility development. The plan was so influential that it extended well beyond the borders of Germany – including Japan, where Abelbe became a much sought-after sports development consultant.

Ernst Hirt

Hirt was one of the initiators of international cooperation in the field of sports facility development and it was his encounter with Frieder Roskam in Cologne and Dr Walter Künzel in Vienna which resulted in the founding of the IAKS. During his career, Hirt was behind the creation of Switzerland's two national colleges of physical education in Magglingen and Tenero, which today are still the leading training centres for top-level sport in Switzerland.

Pino Zoppini

A graduate from the Department of Architecture of Milan Polytechnic – where he worked with Professor Piero Bottoni – Zoppini has designed a number of Olympic venues and contributed hugely to the development of sports and leisure facilities in Italy. He combined a career in architecture with a successful career as a swimmer and was chef de mission for the Italian Olympic team at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Carlos Vera Guardia

Venezuelan architect Vera Guardia has coordinated national sports facility master plans in numerous Latin American countries. A member of the IAKS since 1972, he has served as a member of its executive board for many years.

Peter Gattermann

A passionate sports architect, Gatterman ran the Austrian Institute for School and Sports Facility Development as its director from 1999 to 2008. His special fields included the construction of sports halls and sports grounds and the safety of sports and events venues.

Siegfried Hoymann

Hoymann has been a member of the IAKS for almost its entire existence of 50 years. In this time he has held various positions at the IAKS – including a stint as secretary general from 2001 to 2015. A proponent of global contacts in sports facility development, Hoymann has organised numerous IAKS Congresses and conferences.

Willi Weyer

A politician, Weyer was a supporter of the “sport for all” notion and a driving force behind the "Trimm Dich" campaign that encouraged millions of people to engage in exercise and sport in Germany. Alongside Frieder Roskam, Weyer was a prime mover in the founding of the IAKS and served as the organisation’s president from 1965 to 1984.

Roswitha Thibes

Thibes served on the IAKS Executive Board and handled membership issues as well as organised the staging of IAKS Congresses. From 1978 to 1995, she was also editor of the IAKS magazine "sb".

Werner Krems

Krems has a distinguished career as a member of IAKS’ working groups, including those for tennis facilities, sports halls and sports flooring. In particular, he contributed his expertise on the functional requirements for sports flooring and the Tennis Facilities Manual, which today is still a comprehensive standard work on the planning, construction and maintenance of indoor and outdoor tennis courts.