The location for this Natatorium is an iconic site where the city meets the sea. A significant challenge has been at the clients’ request, to create a series of indoor-outdoor spaces filled with daylight. We were asked to revitalize and enhance communal life with an urban public space surrounding the new facility and fronting the beach, to honor aquatics, beach life, and sailing.
The client also requested a memorable iconic experience and Architecture for both competitive aquatic sports and for community recreation. The qualities of lightness and weight, grandeur and intimacy, processional and meandering, formal and informal, practical and poetic are intended to be materialized and experienced in the Architecture.
The indoor pools and support facilities will be enclosed with a lightweight and long-span structure enclosed with ETFE, a polymer pneumatic skin that can vary from transparent to opaque, controlling daylight and heat gain.
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SIZE : 120,000 SF
Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center
Long Beach, CA
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