AQUA CITY

Athletic Center

The shear walls form the massing of the Aqua City. They are oriented diagonal to separate SW from the NE in order to provide natural heating and cooling. The program is divided so that the part that needs natural heating will be on the SW part of the building and the program that needs more cooling is on the NE side of the building. The walls also block the noise from the freeway, and disconnect the urban life from the nature. They divide the space and separate the program to provide privacy. Each shear wall also serves for different purposes: one is a kayak storage, the other one has a water feature, the other one serves as screen for a waterfront view, one includes showers and the HVAC program, and another one collects the rain water and also includes the HVAC program. The Aqua City program includes one large indoor athletic pool and an outdoor pool. There is also a coffee shop, learning center, classrooms, and gym. It also includes locker rooms, showers, bathrooms and a kayak storage. The bike path is intentionally shifted to go through the shear walls so that the bikers get close to the building and experience the material, purpose and massiveness of those walls.