Flagstaff Aquatic and Multigenerational Center serves not only its local community (seniors in particular) but also tourists traveling to see the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon. The facility houses a large, solar-heated leisure pool with a lazy river, two large slides and play features; a multiactivity gymnasium for basketball, volleyball, inline hockey and soccer; multipurpose rooms; a childcare area; a large gallery for passive activities and viewing of the climbing wall; an elevated track; a large fitness area overlooking the pool, gym and gallery; and dance and fitness studios.
The building was designed to fit into and preserve the native landscape of the site, a mountainous and wooded location on the edge of town. Flagstaff has few public buildings or consistent vernacular, adding greater importance to the architectural statement. The center’s architecture combines laminated wood timber, concrete and glass in both pitched and low-sloped roofs in a composition interpreting familiar forms and materials in a new way. Transparent to the street, the large two-story gallery space anchors the building, and its swooping entry roof invites users inside. Cement fiberboard siding provides the appearance of wood, but requires little maintenance.