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Recreation Aotearoa has released an ‘Insights Report’, Aquatic Facility Design in the 21st Century, sharing insights into international best practice in aquatic facility design.   

Based on a presentation by Alex Head from Warren and Mahoney Architects at Recreation Aotearoa, 2018 WAVES conference, the document explains that “designing appealing, flexible, well-located and universally accessible spaces that function efficiently is the way to go for facilities in the 21st century.”

Head, the leader of Warren and Mahoney’s sports design team, clarifies the need for ‘international best practice’ in design rather than ‘innovation’ for its own sake.

As lead architect for the new Taiora QE II sports facility in Canterbury and the Wanaka Recreation Centre, (opened June 2018) as well as Ashburton EA Networks Centre and Selwyn Aquatic Centre, Head has plenty of experience to reflect on.

He describes International Best Practice as “the constant iterative improvement (in design) by taking lessons from home and overseas - and completing the feedback loop on what works.”

Using this thinking and continually adding to a knowledge base with lessons learned from previous design, modern facilities stand a much better chance of meeting the expectations of community, functioning effectively in terms of energy consumption and lasting the distance.

The Insight goes on to explain that “spaces that inspire people encourage participation in active recreation. Creating aquatic facilities that really work for their users - and keep on working - is a big challenge. People now seek experiences far beyond the basic swim, so the facility needs to be appealing, flexible in use, offer a variety of ways to be participate, be well-located and efficient.”

For more information go to the Recreation Aotearoa website at www.nzrecreation.org.nz

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