Haselwood Family YMCA

Silverdale, Wash.
Construction Cost: $17.6 million
Area / Square Feet: 85,000
Occupancy Date: June 2011

The Haselwood Family YMCA is organized around a wide entry corridor, which welcomes guests with a single point of access, offers views to the natatorium, and ends with a casual lounge area featuring a welcoming fireplace and café offering healthy beverages and snacks. A second access corridor is located between the gym and locker rooms. An open stair is located at the intersection, with generous daylighting overhead. All activity areas can be viewed from this internal circulation pattern, which is repeated on the second floor and showcases the YMCA's activities and amenities while creating staffing efficiencies. An eighth-mile interior running track circumscribes the second floor.

A YMCA requires attractive yet durable finishes. The gym floor utilized wood sources from sustainably managed forests. Rubber flooring with recycled content is used in strength training areas and locker rooms. Acoustic metal was used throughout the facility to reduce noise passing between interior activities.

The exterior is a welcoming glass storefront providing full visibility of a beckoning interior climbing wall. Metal siding between masonry piers and tilt-up concrete pay homage to Silverdale's maritime history, while providing durability in a wet climate. Masonry, metal and glass were also used at primary elevations to establish a civic presence to the public faces of the building. Applied aluminum sunscreen louvers were designed into the south-facing glass to minimize interior glare and heat gain, particularly in the natatorium environment.