Construction of a new aquatic centre at the University of British Columbia began recently with the excavation of a large underground cistern.
The 1.3 million litre holding tank will harvest rainwater from the aquatic centre’s roof to replenish evaporated pool water as well as help manage extreme storm water run-off and flooding.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first use of a rainwater harvesting system to top up pool water lost to evaporation in a public indoor swimming pool in North America," said Mark Ostry, principal of Acton Ostry Architects Inc. in Vancouver.
"Because of the warm interior and the powerful ventilation system, the pool loses one-and-one-half to two inches of water per day. The cistern is integral to the sustainability of the pool."
The new aquatic centre is being built close to the heart of the UBC campus.
It is located next to the War Memorial Gym on MacInnes Field, east of the old Student Union Building, between the Student Recreation Centre and the future bus loop.
The 83,000-square foot, one-storey aquatic centre will contain three different pools, each of which will be maintained at different temperatures: A 51-meter, 10-lane high-performance competition pool; a 25-metre, eight-lane pool; and a 4,000-square foot warm leisure pool with a hot pool and a lazy river.
There are both universal and team change rooms.
There is a public viewing area at deck level, as well as spectator seating for 460 adjacent to the competition pool.
"Because of a variety of height requirements above the various pool surfaces, the roof is articulated," said Ostry.
"The result is a distinctive and dramatic architectural expression."
He said the respective appearances of the old and new pools are very different.
"The old pool is dark, enclosed and inward-looking," he said.
"There are very few windows. The new pool, on the other hand, will have lots of glass that will connect the inside with the outside environment. The windows will let lots of daylight into the interior, and the overall effect will be very light and airy."
Acton Ostry is working in collaboration with Toronto-based MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJM) on the project.
MJM led the design phase of the project and Acton Ostry is leading the construction phase.
The owner is UBC Properties Trust, construction manager is Heatherbrae Builders Co Ltd, and the civil engineer is Kamps Engineering Ltd.
Ostry said the architects faced a number of challenges on the project.
"The site is very constrained, which limits pedestrian movement from the bus loop to the campus core," he said.
"As a result, we have created an extensive system of traffic management that controls the movement of pedestrians, as well as construction and transit vehicles around and through the site."
Another challenge stems from the competing uses of the new aquatic centre.
"The competition activities need to be separated physically and acoustically from recreational activities so they can both occur at the same time," Ostry said.
The competition pool needs good acoustics, so the swimmers can hear the instructions from their coaches on the side of the pool.
The recreational pool, which is often full of noisy, enthusiastic children, has the opposite requirement.
"Lighting needs to be controlled too," Ostry said.
"The competition side shouldn’t have any glare on the water. In addition, dry activities need to be kept separate from wet activities, for safety reasons."
Construction on the project, which is targeting LEED Gold, began in November 2014.
The next step, following excavation for the cistern, is pouring the foundation.
The project is slated for completion in November 2016. The construction budget is about $33.5 million. The existing aquatic centre, which was built in 1976, will be demolished once the new centre is completed.
The current centre has reached the end of its useful life.
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