Foothills Recreation & Aquatics Center

Glendale, AZ
Construction Cost: $13.77 million
Area / Square Feet: 74,814
Occupancy Date: June 2006

The Foothills Recreation & Aquatics Center adheres to a design philosophy focused on transparency and connectivity. A two-story lobby allows views of virtually all activity spaces, including the climbing area, outdoor pool, fitness room and suspended jogging track. The jogging track carries the transparency theme by circulating through the gym, lobby and exercise room, passing by the aerobics rooms and racquetball courts, and finally jutting out from the building footprint, allowing joggers views of the adjacent street.

The exterior of the building is composed primarily of colored masonry with portions clad in metal panels and glass ? all of which relate to an adjacent library and campus buildings. Sunshading devices are also integrated into the design, taking the form of vertical perforated metal sheets suspended above certain windows. The exterior pool deck includes a leisure pool, current channel, water slide and six-lane competition pool with diving well.

The building interior houses both fitness and community spaces, separated into two controlled areas linked by the common lobby. The fitness area includes racquetball courts, aerobics rooms, a weight room, a cardio area, an 11,000-square-foot gymnasium and locker room facilities for use by both pool and recreation patrons. Separate from the recreation area is a community classroom and a teaching kitchen, as well as meeting rooms.