Sustainable aquatic center is landmark building

by Jonathan McGaha | April 30, 2009 12:00 am

Completed in April 2008, the Sunderland Aquatic Center in Sunderland, England, is home to northeast England’s first and only Olympic-sized pool. The aquatic center features a 10-lane, 164- by 82-foot (50- by 25-m) competition swimming pool with seating for more than 750 spectators; 82-foot diving pool with diving boards of various heights; and Wellness Center.

The long, flattened tubular-shaped aquatic center is clad in more than 64,500 square feet (5,992 m2) of 65/500 straight aluminum standing-seam panels from Kalzip, Michigan City, Ind., in addition to a selection of Kalzip fabrications.

“The near-coastal location, highly demanding internal environment and ovoid profile meant the building’s outer material had to have proven resistance to the elements whilst at the same time being flexible for shaping,” said Stephen Wilson, technical associate for Red Box Architecture, Newcastle, England. “Specially colored Kalzip was chosen for the external skin, which encloses a super-insulated and vapor sealed roofing build-up.”

The Kalzip fabrications included large curved flashings at each end of the building and a series of feature portholes, which provide louvered ventilation to the plant room areas.

Red Box was charged with creating a regional facility that was accessible to all while being a landmark building for the people of Sunderland. In the end it created one of England’s most environmentally friendly swimming complexes. To avoid thermal problems, the rainwater collection system was kept external to the building by enclosing it in contrastingly colored ribs along the building shell. The rainwater is collected from the roof and channeled into a 18,421-gallon (70,000-L) underground tank before being filtered for reuse in the center’s pools.

Beatty Construction, Sunderland, was the main contractor, and SIAC Construction (UK) Ltd., Stonehouse, England, was the roofing installer.

Kalzip

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/sustainable-aquatic-center-is-landmark-building/

---