In January, design firm Populous and the City of Aurora, Colo. marked the opening of the Southeast Aurora Recreation Center and Fieldhouse. The 77,000-sf facility draws design inspiration from the nearby Rocky Mountains.
With natural Douglas Fir structure and decking, the building aims to mimic the geography of a canyon. The large open entryway spans the length of the building and offers expansive mountain views through a glass curtainwall. The glass walls also provide light and visibility into various areas such as the basketball courts.
Populous designed the facility, including the city’s first indoor field house, to respect the site while also meeting the project requirements of operational efficiency, cost-effective design, and the community’s betterment.
“This new recreation center and field house stands apart as a breathtaking example of a community asset that is built to reflect, benefit, and showcase its people and its landscape,” Gudmundur Jonsson, senior architect and principal at Populous, said in a statement. “The City of Aurora now has another cost-effective and operationally efficient space that will allow it to further serve its community.”
An elevated running track extends from inside the gym out into the entryway and along the curtainwall, evoking a mountain trail. The fitness area includes a 3,000-sf patio and a garage door opening to outdoor training areas. In addition to the gym, track, and other outdoor fitness areas, the recreation center includes community spaces, volleyball courts, pickleball courts, pools, and a 20-foot-tall waterslide that runs 152 feet long.
The $41.9 million project is the second ground-up recreation center constructed for Aurora in over four decades. Populous also led the design of Aurora’s Central Recreation Center.
On the Building Team:
Owner: City of Aurora Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Department
Design architect and architect of record: Populous
MEP engineers: The Ballard Group, Innovative Electrical Systems
Structural engineer: Martin Martin
General contractor/construction manager: Saunders Construction
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 1, 2020
DLR Group completes LA Memorial Coliseum Renovation
The work finished prior to the 2019 USC season.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 27, 2020
Erudite eSports: Colleges build their very own eSports arenas
Universities are building dedicated spaces for eSport athletes to pick up the sticks.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2020
Disney to develop private island destination in The Bahamas
This will be Disney’s second private island retreat.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 25, 2020
The world’s largest cricket stadium opens
Populous designed the project.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 6, 2020
Europe’s first LEGOLAND Water Park is set to open
The water park will be part of Italy’s Gardaland Theme Park in Gardaland, Italy.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 20, 2020
Construction begins on $1.8 billion addition to the Washington State Convention Center
LMN Architects designed the project.
GIANTS 19 PREMIUM | Dec 23, 2019
Top 65 Sports Facilities Engineering Firms for 2019
Walter P Moore, Kimley-Horn, ME Engineers, Thornton Tomasetti, and EXP head the rankings of the nation's largest sports facilities sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
GIANTS 19 PREMIUM | Dec 23, 2019
Top 90 Sports Facilities Architecture Firms for 2019
Populous, HKS, HOK, Gensler, and HNTB top the rankings of the nation's largest sports facilities sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 6, 2019
An architect in Florence proposes a new soccer stadium as part of a larger urban redevelopment
The owner of Fiorentina, the soccer team, wants to move into a new facility by 2023.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 22, 2019
HKS designs Team Vitality’s new Paris HQ
The facility is meant to draw in more than just eSports fans.
