Aquatic Center Relies on Ceiling to Create Sustainable Facility
Located 40 minutes from Vancouver, British Columbia, the City of Surrey’s Guildford Recreation Centre features a new 112,000-square-foot aquatic center. Helping create an attractive, functional and sustainable facility, ROCKFON Sonar acoustic stone wool ceiling systems were installed throughout the new space.
In the next 30 years, one in five metro Vancouver residents are predicted to live in Surrey. Serving its growing community, the Guildford Recreation Centre’s multi-purpose facility is open seven days a week. Expanding the existing recreation facility by 75,000 square-feet, the $38.6 million project includes a larger fitness center and lobby, more office space, a bridge and 300 seats for spectators, plus the 37,000-square-foot aquatic center. Constructed while the existing recreation center and parking remained fully operational, the aquatic center addition was completed in Feb. 2015.
The design and construction team included Bing Thom Architects (BTA), SHAPE Architecture, general contractor Heatherbrae Builders, specialty contractor StructureCraft Builders and acousticians at BKL Consultants Ltd. BTA led the aquatic center’s overall design as it previously had for Surrey’s iconic Central City complex and City Centre Library. Adding to BTA’s experience, SHAPE provided specialization in designing the facility’s pools.
“At Bing Thom Architects, we try to provide unique elements in all our projects. These elements contribute to enhancing the user’s experience of the space and creating iconic forms in the physical landscape,” said BTA’s project manager, Lisa Potopsingh. “With the Guildford Aquatic Centre, these unique elements are the integrated wood trusses and the use of natural light within the natatorium and the pixelated pre-cast panels of the façade.”