Project: Sunderland Aquatic Centre

Client: Sunderland City Council

Value: £19.8m

Contract: Traditional

Duration: 94 weeks

Awards: 2008 - LABC Awards – Best Public / Community Access Project

2008 - Green Apple Environment Award - Silver Award

2008 - Journal Landmark Awards - Best Retail/Leisure; Best Public Sector Project and Landmark of the Year 2008

Making a splash in Sunderland is a new state-of-the-art Aquatic and Wellness Centre. The new facility includes:

• A 50m pool with 10 lanes and a movable floor
• A 25m multipurpose pool with diving platforms, two spring boards and a movable floor
• Seating for 500 spectators
• A state-of-the-art fitness centre with performance testing facilities

This is possibly the 'greenest' pool in the UK with its many sustainable features such as rainwater that falls onto the roof is harvested, filtered and used back in the pool and the eleven huge beams that span the length of the roof were sourced from a sustainably managed forest in Austria.

It is also the only 50m pool in the UK to achieve a BREEAM rating of "excellent", which is only awarded to buildings that take into account their environmental impact during design, construction and in long-term use.

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