Recreation & Senior Center Renovations Provide Acoustic Solution

SOURCE: Ecore

Built in 1990, the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center serves as a public hub for seniors, preschoolers and fitness enthusiasts. The center is dedicated to supporting physical, mental and social wellness for the city’s residents, including providing services for members ranging from 3 months old to over 100 years old. 

“Our motto is ‘there is something for everyone,’” said Kathy Martin, superintendent of recreation and senior care services. “We are one of the busiest rec centers in Colorado and our mission is to provide opportunities for social engagement that supports both physical and mental well-being.”

As the community grew, so did the need for more space and equipment. Following a feasibility study in 2016, a major construction project took place and was completed in 2019. 

“The 18-month feasibility study was made up of city council members, architects and citizens ranging from teenagers to seniors,” said Martin. “It included two citizen surveys, and everything that came out of that study aligned with our construction plans.”

Renovations included the addition of a second floor with a weight room and expanded cardio areas, a second lap pool, leisure pool, splash pad, daycare facility and indoor turf field and playground.

Challenge

The Rec Center’s renovations also called for a first-floor daycare center, but design plans situated the cardio area and weight room directly above the daycare. Due to this layout, the design firm required flooring with high sound-mitigation properties to make these fitness areas less intrusive to the toddlers and staff below.

“We needed something to reduce the sound between the weight area and the daycare center,” added Martin. “Ecore’s SmashTile surface offered enhanced noise reduction and exceptional durability.”

Additionally, the expanded pool space needed flooring that was extremely slip-resistant for lifeguards, guests and members. In addition to meeting a variety of performance requirements, the flooring also needed to support wayfinding and the aesthetic vision of the design team.

“We had to be sure we satisfied the needs of the community while also adhering to performance and safety requirements,” said Miranda Dooley, interior designer III, Perkins and Will.

Solution

The $28.5 million expansion required a variety of surfaces with enhanced acoustic, slip resistant and low-maintenance properties. Having worked with Ecore on previous construction projects, Perkins and Will specified the company’s flooring for the needs of the Louisville Rec Center. Ecore satisfied all surface requirements which helped to simplify specification by using a single vendor.

In the weight room, Ecore SmashTile was selected for its extreme durability and superior sound-mitigation. The surface diminishes shock by absorbing the impact from weights. The large installation of SmashTile (over 1,200 LF) required collaboration between the designers and Ecore.

“We designed wayfinding into the colored patterns on the floor, but because it is a heavy product, Ecore showed us how to improve the patterned cuts on-site to achieve the overall look we desired without sacrificing performance,” remarked Dooley.

Ecore Motivate was installed in the cardio area. This multilayer surface that features itsTRU^™ technology balances the distribution of force reduction and energy restitution, resulting in less impact on knees and joints of runners and walkers. Ecore Basic Rolls and Tiles were used in areas such a hallways and circuit training zones that required a durable, affordable surface. Finally, Aqueous flooring was installed in all pool areas. This vinyl safety surface is engineered with slip-resistant particles and a raised embossment for added slip resistance.

Results

The newly renovated 103,000-square-foot Louisville Rec Center serves as a centerpiece of the Louisville community, offering a wide range of amenities and activities. The lifeguard staff appreciates the high slip-resistant properties of the Aqueous surface around the pool, in changing rooms and in the pool party area.

“Members are loving the color scheme and we feel the floor will stand the test of time,” said Martin. “They seem really happy with the new look.”

In addition, cardio and weight areas with sound-mitigating properties are not disruptive to the preschool rooms below.

“I have no doubts in the performance of this flooring,” said Dooley. “Ecore was able to mix the specifications we needed for a wide variety of activities while incorporating congruent finish options, making it look like one seamless application.”

About Ecore
From the weight room to the recovery room, Ecore empowers human performance with safe, quiet and ergonomic flooring. Our team is driven by the question: can a floor do more? For Ecore, the answer is “yes.” We design and manufacture pro-performance surfaces engineered to help energize the people above them. Built on a legacy that began in 1871, our team designs innovative solutions for many industries, including healthcare, hospitality, wellness, sports and fitness. Ecore, headquartered in Lancaster, PA, serves athletic and commercial flooring customers in more than 75 countries. Learn more at www.ecoreintl.com.