Designed to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood in an affluent suburb of Hartford, Conn., the two-level, 29,646-square foot Miss Porter’s School Squash and Swim Center provides a competition, recreation and event venue to serve the private institution’s 326 students.
To make the new facility fit with the school’s existing home-like image, designers sited and scaled the facility so the natatorium was built into the hillside, effectively reducing its visual height while allowing for sloped roof lines. The interior layout encourages views to the Farmington River from the pool deck, as well as from a student lounge situated across the rear of the eight squash courts. An exterior patio extending across the lounge and pool areas supplies outdoor activity space and additional views to the river.
A curved, barrel-vaulted, copper-covered entry archway greets visitors, while a wood-beam-and-column design and the school’s colors unify many of the building’s spaces. All seating areas — including the 200 arena-style seats in the natatorium — feature wireless Internet access.
The natatorium boasts a 25-yard, eight-lane ceramic-tile competition pool, and a multitude of windows with specially tinted, high performance glass reduce solar glare and provide more outside views.
