Atlas Tube Recreation Centre and Library

Programmed to replace aging arenas, address the need for aquatics, and consolidate public assembly uses (including a public library, gymnasium, and meeting rooms), the Atlas Tube Centre has become the collective recreational and social nucleus of the Town of Lakeshore, Ontario. Its design also had to respond to unusual constraints: because of uncertain provincial and federal funding, coupled with tendering deadlines set by the schedule, the building’s organization and structural configuration had to be able to expand and contract during the project’s development.

The spaces of the 200,000 sf complex are unified by a consistent palette of wood and serene white as well as a comprehensive wayfinding and graphics identity program. The primary arena has spectator seating for 1,000 and a concourse-level walking/running track with exterior glazing. In the natatorium, glazed sliding doors open onto outdoor terraces in the surrounding park and provide natural ventilation, one of project’s many sustainability measures.