Guildford Aquatic Centre

We created a unique environment around a celebrated new aquatic centre, immersing visitors in a dramatic natural landscape. The team’s vision was to extend the water state from the inside out, allowing swimmers to feel like they are floating in the surrounding vegetation escarpments. The entry gives the impression that the landscape is moving outward from the building in waves. 

Engineered earth walls are densely planted to address the significant grade change from the street to the building entry. All site runoff is diverted into two stormwater retention basins, and native and adaptive planting reduces long-term irrigation and maintenance costs.