Located near the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, the Uintah Community Recreation Center includes a full-size double gymnasium, an indoor lap pool, a large indoor leisure pool complete with interactive play features and waterslides, a two-level fitness center, group exercise/dance studios, a climbing wall, a running track, a childcare area, a community meeting room, party rooms, classrooms and support facilities.
The program elements are organized along a spine that delineates the wet functions from the dry ones and also serves as the central casual activity space for the building. There is a single control point and fee collection area that is located in the main hall and provides staff views to the rest of the facility. The natatorium is separated from the main hall by a 28-foot-high, continuous glass wall.
The formal expression of the building mirrors the unique geology of the area: the sloping roofs mimic the cuestas, and the locally quarried stone-faced walls reflect the pronounced stratification of the Colorado Plateau. The building’s mass was carefully articulated to be an assembly of small, discrete forms to complement the adjacent residential neighborhood. Honed-faced concrete block walls are stacked to evoke the rock formations of nearby peaks and the integrally colored concrete flooring flows from the outside areas, along the main hall and onto the pool deck.
Chapman University
