Guildford Aquatic Centre

This swimming pool facility (an addition to the existing Guildford Recreation Centre) provides space for family activities, athletic training, and hosting competitive swimming events. Featuring a 50-metre FINA recognized lap pool as well as 300 seats for spectators, a pedestrian bridge, and underground parkade, the new Centre has the capacity to host competitive swimming events and is recognized as a popular recreational and therapeutic aquatic destination that provides training opportunities for swimming, water polo, and other aquatic sports and leisure uses.

The design team came up with a cast-in-place concrete facility to expand the building footprint, proposing a “magic box” concept, whereby the dark precast concrete exterior acted in tension with the white pearl and dancing light of the new natatorium interior.

The owner’s architectural goals were to provide an accessible wood-based clear-span roof that reflects light, absorbs noise, and conceals the MEP services. StructureCraft worked with Revery (formerly Bing Thom) Architecture to develop a prefabricated wood truss system, generated from the City’s “Wood First Policy” initiative. The system is made up of 95’-long exposed timber trusses, stained white, a white acoustic ceiling and a built-in catwalk.

The unique trusses, triangular in section, are comprised structurally of 2 glulam top chords and 1 glulam bottom chord, joined by CNC-cut LSL (Laminated Strand Lumber) webbing, and preservative-treated plywood deck. Inside the trusses, the mechanical ducts, electrical services, lighting, sprinklers, and acoustic ceiling insulation are contained, all of which were pre-installed. The resulting 22 trusses (with roofing membrane already in place), each 95’ long x 14’ wide x 10’ deep, were carefully loaded onto trucks, transported overnight to site, and staged in preparation for lifting. The trusses were then hoisted and installed at a rate of 2 per day, thereby creating the entire 30,000 SF roof in 2 weeks.