Diamond Schmitt-designed Ontario rec centre opens

by sadia_badhon | October 27, 2020 3:01 pm

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The new Oakville Trafalgar Community Centre[2] (OTCC), a health and wellness facility designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects[3], is set to serve the needs of the Oakville (Ont.) community as a gathering place for groups large and small.

The 4924-m² (53,000-sf) facility offers a 25-m (82-ft) lap pool, warm water pool with water play feature, universal change rooms, double gymnasium, fitness centre, walking track, multipurpose meeting rooms, and a cafe. The 25-m pool is the first complete Natare pool system in Canada with steel walls and a sand filter system. The centre’s sweeping white form is set in a new neighbourhood park, which includes an accessible playground, pavilion, splash pad, and landscaped gardens.

Delivered through the collaborative integrated project delivery (IPD) model, OTCC was designed with input from the design and construction teams, the town, and the public. Focused on accessibility and sustainability, OTCC is targeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. The energy-efficient building includes rooftop solar panels and a geothermal field for heating and cooling.

Simple, geometric shapes drive the form of this building. The larger volume, containing the gymnasia and the galleria embrace the lower volume of the aquatics facility. The galleria acts as spine connecting the future civic square through the building and out to the new park. Natural light through bird-friendly windows and an asymmetrically ascending wood ceiling bring the outdoors into the aquatics area.

The palette of high contrast blues and white extend from the façade with a playful design of blue panels, each colour with a different reveal proportion, to the interior of the design.

Designed to the Oakville Universal Design Standards, OTCC is accessible for everyone in the community, with generous space for mobility devices, ramps into the pools, and high contrast colours on material finishes for ease of navigation.

“The Oakville Trafalgar Community Centre is an excellent example of a successful partnership between the owner and design/build team that the IPD agreement type delivers. It has resulted in an outstanding high-quality facility providing good value for the taxpayer,” said David Dow, principal-in-charge, Diamond Schmitt.

Source URL: https://www.constructioncanada.net/diamond-schmitt-designed-ontario-rec-centre-opens-2/

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