Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre was constructed to meet the needs of a diverse population in one of Canada’s fastest growing cities. The Centre has already surpassed anticipated visitor numbers.
The roof is a unique and slender double, long-span timber catenary over the Olympic-sized pool, suspended between post-tensioned concrete buttresses. The engineers chose wood as a cost-effective, structurally-efficient and aesthetically-pleasing alternative to steel, cleverly balancing form and function.
The judges were struck by the undulating roof which elegantly balances structural form with building use and celebrates the expressed materials. The adoption of timber in catenary permitted a structural depth of just 300mm for a 55m span. It defies convention and demanded design excellence in the tuning of the geometry and development of bespoke details to ensure that this high quality of construction could be delivered economically for the public client.