How We Approach the Design of a Tightly Budgeted Family Aquatic Center
Richard Scott AIA managed a new family aquatic center project during 1998-2000 when he was Vice President of Water Technology, Inc. at Earlywine Park for the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The budget on the project was quite low at $1.8 million. The project has become the gem of the City pools, attracting the largest share of attendance at all the pools in the City. Eventually, the final budget, due to increases in the budget and in-kind services by different agencies was approximately $2.7 million.

When we started the project, our program indicated we could afford a pool of 5,500 SF. However, we knew that the pool would be vastly under sized unless it was at least 8,500 SF. So the staff and design team decided to proceed with the size that was needed rather than the size that the budget could afford. This was a risky decision, which I would not recommend to anyone to repeat; however, it resulted in an outstanding project.

The specific measures that we took in designing the project include the following:

• We began with the smallest, simplest bathhouse that we could design during Schematic Design. Then we redesigned it smaller after our budget analysis in Design Development. Then our consulting architects (Beck Associates) redesigned it again in Construction Documents. Their work was rewarded with an Oklahoma AIA Design Award. The building was broken into separate buildings for Women’s Changing, Men’s Changing, Concession/Office and Mechanical with a roofed area over a kiosk type of cashier function. Materials were kept simple with concrete masonry units sealed without paint or coatings. The roof was constructed of unpainted wood trusses with translucent corrugated fiberglass panels. Roof supports were simple concrete columns formed with corrugated pipe. The colors that were chosen to decorate the simple forms produced a very attractive modern appearance.
• We located many lockers outside the buildings instead of inside.
• We roughed in piping for future water feature purchase.
• Most of our interactive water features were bid as Add Alternates.
• The Parks Department provided fencing and landscaping with their own crews.
• The City Utilities Department provided water and sewer installation.
• Existing parking lots were supplemented with some new spaces.
• The overhead lighting was leased from the local electric company instead of purchased from capital funds.
• We cut haul costs for the pool excavation dirt by constructing a berm for a windbreak.
• We master planned the site for a future addition of a lazy river to double the capacity of the aquatic center.

The result was a highly aesthetic project at lower cost. The business manager at the City of Oklahoma City may be contacted about this project: Larry Ogle, 405-297-3882, mobile 405-627-0714 or larry.ogle@okc.gov.

Cimarron Park Aquatic Center in Irving, TX bid at $3.1 million in March 2007