Thumbing through the past 25 years’ worth of issues of Recreation Management, I was struck by how many projects we’ve highlighted over the years—most notably from 2003 to 2013, when we awarded creative design with our Innovative Architecture & Design Awards.
It would take a book to showcase every winning project from the those 11 years, but it’s worth a look back through some highlights. Here’s one project from each year of the awards, with a range of design teams, project types and budgets represented.
2003: Ford Community & Performing Arts Center
Dearborn, Mich.
Submitted by TMP Associates Inc., this 198,000-square-foot, $37 million project features a 15,000-square-foot indoor aquatics area, with two-story waterslides, interactive water toys, zero-depth entry, lap pool wheelchair lift, dicing area, water channel with current, hot tubs, spas, outdoor deck and a 25-yard lap pool. It also includes a double gymnasium with an elevated three-lane running track, 1,200-seat performing arts center, 13,000-square-foot events hall, fully accessible 4,000-square-foot fitness center, full-service snack bar, childcare center and senior center. Surrounding the building are fields for baseball and soccer, as well as a running trail and manmade pond.
“There is an exciting mix of community spaces,” said Reed I. Vorhees, then a senior designer with Jacobs Facilities and a member of the judges’ panel for the awards. “Although this is a very large project with a very good budget, it is hard to overlook the quality of recreational opportunities that occur within this facility. There is a consistent level of quality given to this project from the siting of the building to the finishes within. It is difficult to find municipal facilities able to reach this level of quality and magnitude and that can provide so much opportunity to the public.”
Visit https://dearborn.gov/thecenter# to learn more about the facility today.
2004: Community Recreation Center at Reunion
Commerce City, Colo.
Submitted by Sink Combs Dethlefs, this 36,000-square-foot $5.28 million project features a 3,600-square-foot pool area with outdoor lap pool, splash pool and leisure area with an interactive water spray feature, a 100-foot waterslide, outdoor volleyball courts and several porches. Inside, there’s a 2,725-square-foot fitness center, full-court gymnasium, aerobics/dance studio, locker rooms, meeting rooms, community lobby, game/party room, childcare services and outdoor playground.
Christell Leonard, then an associate principal and senior designer with Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative and a member of that year’s panel of judges, called out the use of “bright, interesting colors in key places,” and the “combination of exposed wood trusses, corrugated metals, stone” and more. She added, “I love this barn/farmhouse look. This is fun and cutting-edge for a fitness facility. This is very original.”
Visit https://reunionco.com/amenities/reunion-rec-center/ for a glimpse at how this facility looks today.
2005: Sea Lion Aquatic Park
Lisle, Ill.
Submitted by Williams Architects, this $8.5 million project covers 10 acres with a 6,000-square-foot bathhouse, 1,000-square-foot concession building, and a 1,000-square-foot addition to an existing filter building. New features at the transformed aquatic facility included zero-edge leisure pool, 25-yard, six-lane lap pool, two waterslides with a plunge pool, a zero-edge kiddie pool, hydrotherapy pool, teen splash play feature, “waterworks” pool with drop slides and splash play features, a bathhouse with full locker rooms and guard/admission support space, rental lawns, concession deck, sun lawn, a raised spectator deck and shade components.
“Wow!” said Steve Blackburn, then principal and director for Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture and a member of the judges panel. “This aquatic park is a true community asset. Lisle residents and visitors alike are treated to a colorfully attractive and fun environment that integrates plant materials, rock formations, water features and sand play areas so well, I’m compelled to pack up my kids and drive them to Lisle from Denver.”
See what’s going on at the park nearly 20 years later by visiting https://www.villageoflisle.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Sea-Lion-Aquatic-Park-4.
2006: The Kiva Club & Alvea Spa at Trilogy Vistancia
Peoria, Ariz.
Submitted by Westpac Construction Inc., this $12.9 million, 35,000-square-foot project features indoor and outdoor pools, a floor-to-ceiling opening wall system, billiards room, fitness center, full-service spa, cyber café, library, ballroom/multifunction event space and a creative expression room for classes.
Greg Garlock, then a senior associate with DLR Group and a member of the judges panel, called the project a “nice focal point” for the community, noting that it “caters to a fairly specific demographic.” He emphasized the “rich blend of appropriate materials, colors and textures” and the “nice desert aesthetic appropriate to its setting,” adding that the “curving plan creates a nice welcoming gesture from the parking lot, while opening up to desert vistas on the back side.”
See the club and spa today at https://vistancia.com/the-communities/trilogy/resort-clubs/.
2007: Boll Family YMCA
Detroit, Mich.
Submitted by SmithGroup, this $30 million, 100,000-square-foot project features fitness, multiple pools for lap swim, therapy and leisure, a youth sports arena, a full basketball court, interchangeable racquetball and squash courts, a 1/12-mile banked indoor track, wellness center, aerobic rooms and a spinning room, child watch area, a full-day child development center, arts and humanities spaces, a 200-seat flexible “black box” style theater, family arts center and classrooms.
Daniel Atilano, then a principal with Burnidge Cassell Associates and a member of the judges panel said, “This is an outstanding facility that expresses the YMCA’s mission statement of helping people grow in spirit, mind and body.”
Visit https://ymcadetroit.org/boll/ to see what’s going on at the facility today.
2008: Tom Muehlenbeck Center
Plano, Texas
Submitted by Brinkley Sargent Architects (now Brinkley Sargent Wiginton), this $24 million, 79,411-square foot building and 11-acre project features a competitive natatorium, leisure natatorium, multiple lounge spaces, a double gymnasium, jogging/walking track, group exercise room, drop-in babysitting, arts and crafts area, a dividable multipurpose space, a weight area, fitness and cardio areas and a game room. The site includes a combination bathhouse, concession and pavilion building, one vehicular and two pedestrian bdies, an outdoor pool deck area and a playground.
Blackburn, who returned to the judges panel in 2008, said, “The Tom Muehlenbeck Center’s sweeping exterior whisks in Plano residents to an exciting recreation experience.”
Visit https://www.plano.gov/1478/Tom-Muehlenbeck-Recreation-Center to learn what’s going on at this rec center today.
2009: Jester Park Natural Playscape
Granger, Iowa
Submitted by RDG Planning & Design, this $204,343, 40,000-square-foot outdoor play area features a Tall Grass Tangle, Forest of the Dead, Wetland, Stone Henge, Archaeology Dig, Grass Slide, Log Stairs and Boulder Scramble—a playscape developed around the concept of unscripted play and multigenerational involvement.
Tom Poulos, then a principal at Williams Architects, called it “a most impressive natural play-park.” He added, “Every twist and turn in the park is like a new encounter that at the completion of the journey one feels they have had a well-integrated mind-body experience. The subtle/natural design features are well thought-out and laid out …a truly unique park!”
Learn more about the park by visiting https://desmoinesparent.com/jester-park-natural-playscape/.
2010: The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
Salem, Ore.
Submitted by Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, this $33.2 million, 91,500-square-foot project features an aquatics center with a lap pool and leisure pool with current channel, waterslides, interactive water play features, spas and sprayground, as well as an indoor chapel and performing arts venue, multipurpose events space, two-court gymnasium, weight and fitness area, fitness and group exercise studio, climbing wall, party room, childcare facility, indoor playground, teen room, seniors’ lounge, locker rooms including family changing rooms, lobby and staff offices.
“Hats off to the Krocs for their generous vision and to allow projects like this to exist,” said Dave Larson, then senior vice president for TMP Architecture and a member of the judges panel. “This is a great destination and a very comfortable and handsome community hub.”
Visit https://salem.kroccenter.org/kroc-salem/ to learn more about the facility today.
2011: Cary Street Gym at Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Va.
Submitted by Hastings & Chivetta Architects, this $38.2 million, 128,205-square-foot renovation of a historic building features 20,000 square feet of fitness and weight training space, a 40-foot climbing wall, four-court recreation gym, multi-activity rooms, a three-lane suspended running track, two racquetball courts, spinning room, main lobby with control desk, multi-activity court, natatorium with an activity pool, waterslide, rock climbing wall and whirlpool, a wet classroom, a seminar room and fitness assessment lab, recreational sports administrative offices, locker rooms and storage and support spaces.
Jim Wirick, then a principal at LPA Inc. and member of the judges panel, called the project an “excellent marriage of yesterday and today.”
See https://recwell.vcu.edu/facilities-and-hours/cary-street-gym/ to learn more about what’s happening at this facility today.
2012: Hammonasset Beach State Park Visitor’s Center
Madison, Conn.
Submitted by TLB Architecture, this $2.2 million, 2,500-square-foot project added a building to improve park services, with men’s and women’s toilet rooms, special needs changing rooms, vending and nearly 4,000 square feet of deck and boardwalk.
Howard Blaisdell, then a senior project architect with Moody Nolan and member of the judges panel called the project “proof that size does not matter. Nicely detailed to survive and age in a harsh environment.”
Find out more about the park by visiting https://www.reserveamerica.com/explore/hammonasset-beach-state-park/CT/100101/overview.
2013: California Polytechnic State University, Recreation Center
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Submitted by Cannon Design, this $57 million, 165,000-square-foot project features basketball courts, multiuse activity court, fitness center, exercise room, climbing/bouldering wall, office space, volleyball courts, badminton courts, running track, sand volleyball courts, 50-meter swimming pool, leisure swimming pool, lockers and showers, an Outdoor Recreation Equipment Center, indoor soccer and fitness studios.
Troy Sherrard, then a lead designer for Moody Nolan and a member of the judges panel called it an “exciting facility with loads of indoor and outdoor active recreation program spaces,” and said the “curved roofs offer a sense of playfulness and energy expressed throughout.”
Visit https://www.asi.calpoly.edu/facilities/recreation-center/ to learn more about what’s happening at this rec center today.