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Celebrate Park and Recreation month by visiting your local pool! July is dedicated to recognizing the importance of recreation in our lives. We applaud the vital role parks and recreation professionals play in providing essential services and fostering the growth of our communities! National Recreation and Park Association #wherecommunitygrows

Pool and Swimming Facts
• Safety, recreation, a reprieve from the heat, and athletics!
• Approx. 309,000 public swimming pools in the U.S.
• Only 56% of Americans have the 5 basic swimming skills
• Summer municipal swimming lessons are consistently filled
• Swimming = most popular recreational activity for children and teens ages 7-17
• Aquatics rank high on community “wish” surveys
• Bonus fact! Essenza founder and Principal Christa Plaza, was once the head lifeguard at Arizona State University's Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex

Source: Swimming Pools in the US - Industry Data, Trends, Stats | IBISWorld

Originally published in Athletic Business: https://www.athleticbusiness.com/project-galleries/aquatic-design-portfolio/mrzzaXBYP1/scott-carpenter-park- and-pool-boulder-co

Scott Carpenter Park and Pool is a community park that provides a wide variety of recreational facilities including swimming pools, a skate park, an open turf field, diamond fields and a space-themed playground in honor of the park’s namesake and former Boulder resident, astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Over the past several years the pool facilities have undergone a major renovation and transformation into what was desired most by the community, user groups and stakeholders. The design team was tasked with creating an iconic, state-of-the-art facility that promotes inclusiveness, accessibility, sustainability and durability, while honoring and nurturing the existing mature trees and established astronaut theme. The renovated facility includes a new 50-meter outdoor pool, a double waterslide tower, an 8,000-square-foot recreation pool that includes a diving board, a jumping platform, a drop slide, a climbing wall, a lazy river, a zero-depth entry, a space-themed water play feature and a 2,000-square-foot splash pad featuring a 20-foot-tall rocket ship.

The heavily renovated bathhouse features durable materials alongside the existing preserved historic brick, an accessible design for all ages, and an undulating curved blue roof mimicking water waves to welcome visitors.

Construction Cost: $14.8 million
Area / Square Feet: 7,500 (bathhouse) 18 acres (site) Occupancy Date: August 2020

The popular recreation center provides a wide variety of health, fitness, creative programs, activities and classes to the Commerce City community and underwent major renovations to most of the 67,000sf facility, including a 6,000sf addition. With the goal of design innovation while melding the existing and the new, Eagle Pointe Recreation Center was a design challenge.

Lighting Design & Electrical Engineering Design

Almost all areas were updated with new lighting, lighting controls, electrical, and technology changes. It was a puzzle to combine new lighting with old and continue the use of the building"s existing controls and power systems, but the end result is seamless. In addition to new lighting controls throughout the entire space that helped with occupancy and dimming, some fun RGB lighting and controls were incorporated in group exercise classes. The reception desk also included a master shut off for all lighting in the rec center anytime during the day, and an automatic shut off after closing.

Audio / Video Design

To accommodate a large list of owner requirements upgrading the technology designs, such as the large video wall in the cardio area, we coordinated closely between designers and recreation center management teams. Extra care during design and construction was required to integrate the new Audio / Video technology with the lighting. AE Design"s design goals for the Cardio Room revolved completely around the guest experience. In order to provide a customize able experience to guests, we calculated and specified a projector and emissive TV combination in the room, careful to match the brightness of the different displays. To give guests individual control, sound can be accessed via phone app digitally and privately accessing sound of each of the display screens. During group exercise activities, such as movie night utilizing the large projection screen, column array speakers can be utilized to help immerse the group. Overall, the project is not your typical recreation center. We made strategic upgrades, utilized lighting in creative ways, and selected fixtures, helping to highlight a unique gem for the community.

By: AE Design  |  http://www.aedesign-inc.com/eagle-pointe

By: Kelsey Cipolla, AIE - June 1, 2013  |  Originally published at www.clubindustry.com

Locker rooms are high-traffic areas that use large amounts of energy and water, and purchasing products that reduce the amount of energy and water wasted can be good for both the environment and a club"s bottom line.

The Columbia Association, a Columbia, MD-based nonprofit organization that operates three health clubs, implemented large-scale energy saving measures in its locker rooms, including energy recovery units that use existing heat in the air to help heat air coming in and reduce humidity. The association also installed a water-cooled condenser bundle that uses heat from the air to heat water being used for showers and laundry, which conserves energy.

“You really have to start with where you can make the most impact, and that would be the locker rooms," says Dennis Mattey, the Columbia Association"s director of construction.

Although these long-term investments come with a large upfront cost, Mattey says they make sense for his facilities and others that have significant energy costs. The Columbia Association also is in the process of constructing a new facility, which will feature recycled countertops, ceiling tiles and carpeting.

Using eco-friendly or recycled materials when constructing or renovating locker rooms allows health club operators to go green from the ground up. Environmentally friendly products can cost 3 percent to 5 percent more than traditional products, but many companies are now recycling old materials to make new ones as part of their manufacturing process at no additional cost to consumers, says Christa Plaza, owner of Essenza Architecture, a Louisville, CO-based firm that specializes in green design.

“For a long time, they were just so expensive, but now that"s starting to change," Plaza says. “It used to be kind of unattainable for some clubs. Now, it"s like almost everyone can do it if we design things properly and help them with the products."

Plaza says that installing low-water-use plumbing fixtures and LED lights, which use less energy and last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent lights, can make a big difference on utility bills.

Other Ways to Go Green

Lockers also can be made of recycled materials, but there are other materials and processes that help make lockers even more environmentally friendly. Using wood veneer instead of solid wood to make lockers reduces the amount of wood wasted by around 60 percent, which translates into fewer trees being used, says Rebecca Tearman, marketing manager for Hollman Inc., an Irving, TX-based manufacturer of environmentally friendly lockers.

Hollman lockers also go through a water-based UV finishing line, which does not contain volatile organic compounds, substances that can affect indoor air quality and have been linked to health risks, Tearman says.

Health club operators do not need to renovate their locker rooms to introduce green products. Even small changes can make a positive environmental impact, says Brian Kincaid, marketing director for health and fitness for GOJO, Akron, OH, which produces green certified hygiene and shower products.

Providing green hand sanitizers can help improve hygiene without requiring members to use water or paper towels, and green shower products reduce the amount of harsh chemicals that are rinsed down the drain and into the water supply, Kincaid says.

Using green products also can be a selling point for members.

“The environmental responsibility that the clubs take is becoming more and more important to members in their own daily lives," Kincaid says. “They"re becoming more educated and aware. If they"re putting down a significant amount of money for a health club, they want that health club to reflect their values as well."

For Healthworks Fitness for Women, Boston, the effort to go green began in 2007 as an extension of the company"s emphasis on the community and a way to differentiate the facilities. Healthworks eliminated paper towels and installed hand dryers. It also began using green cleaning products and switched to LED lighting, says Mark Harrington Jr., executive director of Healthworks. The decision to go green helped more than members and the environment, he says.

“Not only has it been good for our corporate image, but it"s also been helpful for the utilities," Harrington says. “It"s very easy to continue doing what you always do. It"s important just to take a look and evaluate the full impact. I think our CFO was surprised at some cost savings we could realize for doing something that was also good. It"s kind of a win-win situation."