Red Deer Recreation Centre Renovation

Red Deer, Alb.
Construction Cost: $8 million (Canadian)
Area / Square Feet: 46,929
Occupancy Date: February 2009

The project mandate for the renovation of the Red Deer Recreation Centre was to re-envision an exhausted aquatic asset as the embodiment of the City of Red Deer’s new wellness vision. The facility houses recreation programming, registration and administration services, fitness and recreational spaces, fitness studios, continuing education and community areas, and cultural amenities that include painting and pottery studios.

The redevelopment of the recreation center creates a new face for recreation services in the city and acts as a central gathering and registration venue for all city recreational programs. Its central location in a large downtown park also creates a natural backdrop.

The various program components were carefully planned to maximize functionality, as well as to ease supervision and maintenance, and all expansions of the building envelope minimized site disturbance, improved energy performance and enclosed the maximum volume of space as expressively as possible.

The dominant programmatic element around which the design concept was developed is a new public space, the grand hall, which is visible from and accessible to as many activity zones as possible. The grand hall transitions, unifies and organizes internal circulation and access to the facility, and serves as a catalyst for the rebranding of the recreation center.