A new aquatic centre has officially opened at the University of British Columbia.
Designed by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA) and Acton Ostry Architects—Architects in Association, the new Aquatic Centre replaces the indoor and outdoor pools at the centre of the UBC campus. It features a 10-lane, 50m competition pool; 8-lane, 25m pool with an accessible ramp and diving boards; a lazy river; hot tub; food and beverage kiosks, a sauna and steam room; and more.
In 2012, UBC sent more swimmers to the London Summer Olympic Games than anywhere in Canada, and became the most successful swim team in the country. Meanwhile, the explosive market-driven expansion of the Endowment Lands and burgeoning campus community created the fastest growing youth and family population in the Lower Mainland. The new Aquatic Centre is required to meet the needs of both these groups; a high performance training / competition venue, and a community aquatic centre within a single facility – while engaging the public realm and contributing to campus life and the student experience.
The design approach divides the plan north-south into four program bars: lobby and changerooms; community aquatics; competition aquatics; and bleachers. Daylight is used as the organizing device and separator for the community and competition aquatic halls. A ‘Y’ shaped bank of columns supports a continuous 6m wide skylight bisecting the length of the building and splitting the two halls. A translucent screen creates a luminescent virtual barrier between the two spaces, offering controllability of the space to effectively operate divergent aquatic functions simultaneously.
The siting of the new aquatic centre responds to the expanse of the transit plaza, the volume of student traffic, and key pedestrian circulation and vehicular arrival on site. It works with the scale of its neighbouring buildings to create defined public realm spaces on three sides: the south facade frames the space of the new transit plaza, providing shelter, views, and terraced southern seating for commuters; the west facade, canopy, and glazed corridor parallels a lush garden promenade of mature trees along ‘Athletes Way’; and the north facade creates a public viewing passageway and optional programmable exterior activity space.
The UBC Aquatic Centre won a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2014. For more information on the project, please click here.
Please note: Text courtesy of the MJMA website.