This week the City of Surrey’s Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre earned international recognition by winning both the Sport Completed Buildings Award at the World Architecture Festival and the coveted Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence, the highest honour given by the Institution of Structural Engineers.

We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the City of Surrey, whose vision for an iconic destination pool guided the design process for this transformative facility. In and out of the water, we are dedicated to creating aquatic architecture that contributes to strong, healthy communities. This belief is shared by the City of Surrey, and has been confirmed by the overwhelming positive feedback received from the community.

Since opening this spring, the Aquatic Centre has been recognized with 8 awards, including the Lieutenant Governor of BC Awards for Architecture.

Mayor Linda Hepner commented, “These latest awards only highlight the world-class facility that we have with the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. I commend and congratulate the tremendous local talents of hcma and Fast + Epp for their vision, innovation and for pushing the boundaries in the groundbreaking design of Surrey’s newest aquatic centre.”

Pioneering technical excellence

The facility is a visually iconic, premier destination for recreational use, aquatic training and competitive sport. Structural Engineers, Fast + Epp, helped to create the world’s longest span timber catenary roof ever built, which was installed in just 11 days.

Form follows function

Grandview’s distinctive roof undulations were driven by functional needs, rather than lofty aesthetic goals. Its form rises to accommodate the Olympic dive platform on one end and a waterslide at the other. This curved form also reduces building volume, which results in reduced energy costs for facility operations.

Find out more about the design.

Our POOLS Manifesto

Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre is the latest evolution in our aquatic journey and the result of several decades exploring this building type. What’s next? Anticipated to be completed in 2017, Richmond’s Minoru Complex will be an iconic facility with an aquatic centre, seniors centre and amenities to support Minoru Park’s outdoor sports facilities.

Learn more about our aquatic journey and request a copy of POOLS.