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Complexe aquatique de Brossard
By : PRISME architecture et Héloïse Thibodeau Architecte
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 15th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Sports & Leisure Building : Gold Certification
The aquatic complex project allows the City of Brossard to respond to the current and future demands of its residents by providing them with modern, safe, and accessible resources. The project promotes accessibility to all types of people, including children, families, athletes, seniors, and people with reduced mobility. It also offers support for a wide range of activities, such as fitness, rehabilitation, sports training, sports clubs, as well as local and regional competitions.
Located in Poly-Arena Park, the tube-shaped complex bends to the shape of its site, rupturing due to the strain of its bend which creates an opening. The walls of the form unfold to resemble a breaking wave. The opening allows the central space to be flooded with natural light. The ends of the complex are also open, providing abundant natural light throughout the building. This provides transparency and permeability to the activities taking place inside the aquatic complex.
The complex has two aquatic areas: a competitive area, equipped with an Olympic-size training pool with ten 50-meter lanes, springboards and diving platforms, and a recreational area with a health and wellness zone, water slides and other games. A beach provides access to the recreational pool, allowing people to enter the water safely and at their own pace. Furthermore, the 50-meter pool is the first universally accessible pool in Quebec to be equipped with a ramp and a lift.
One of the major challenges when designing an aquatic center is the need to provide supervision to all swimmers that is not inhibited by light reflecting off the water. To respond to this constraint, the southern curtain wall is glazed with frosted glass that diffuses sunlight entering the building. In addition, a white canvas material is stretched to cover the entire ceiling above the pool. This microperforated fabric is effective in the retransmission of light while also providing acoustic benefits by absorbing high frequencies and echoes.
Finally, the project incorporates a multitude of effective energy efficient measures, including: the recouperation of energy from gray water emitted by the showers | a smart building with an automated energy management system | a white PVC roof to reduce the temperature of the building | an energy efficient building envelope that uses local materials that generate little waste | an energy recouperation system for the dehumidification of the swimming pool that heats the water | highly efficient interior and exterior LED type lighting without any mercury content.
In sum, through its highly performing design and technology, the aquatic complex offers accessible, modern, and adapted installations to the residents and sports organizations of Brossard and its surrounding areas.
Collaboration
Acoustics : Solution acoustique
