Aquatics in The Lodge Des Peres
Hastings+Chivetta created a resort-like aquatic center for the City of Des Peres, seamlessly blending fitness and leisure programming areas. The indoor aquatic facility features a zero-depth entry wave pool, whirlpool spa, and six lap lanes. A major attraction is the indoor/outdoor tube slide, equipped with fiber-optic lighting and a shallow skim-out landing area. Community members enjoy the sauna, steam room, and locker rooms easily accessible from the indoor aquatic center. The outdoor aquatic area boasts distinct upper and lower pools, in addition to a tot pool with interactive play features. The lower pool area features zero-depth entry, a small family waterslide, and a spray ground. Meanwhile, the upper pool is complete with a cool-water whirlpool, lazy river, raindrop umbrella, and spray garden with numerous water activities. Additionally, two outdoor waterslides of different lengths and speeds prove a major attraction for community members.
The Lodge Des Peres also features a number of other community amenities. Social spaces include 1,500 SF of meeting rooms, a kitchen, locker rooms, a snack bar, a classroom and a child care room. Indoor recreation includes a two-court multipurpose gymnasium, a 5,450 SF fitness center, a 1,750 SF exercise room and an elevated track.
Integrating four buildings from different eras into one Student Recreation Complex on the Missouri flagship campus resulted in a 290,000-SF award-winning facility that blends new construction with renovation to create a home for campus recreation as well as world-class aquatic offerings.
Home to the Tigers swimming and diving teams as well as a number of campus and community swim clubs, Missouri’s state-of-the-art aquatic center is one of the largest and most comprehensive competitive swimming and diving venues in the nation. Attracting top-quality meets and championships, the facility features a range of components:
- Olympic-Sized 50-Meter by 25-Yard Competition Pool
- Separate Diving Well
- Diving Tower With 1, 3, 5, 7½ and 10-Meter Diving
- 1,500 Seat Spectator Gallery
- Two Bulkheads
- Moveable Floor
- Warm-Water Spa
- Specialized Timing/Display System
Missouri’s pool is the classic deep water swimming pool with 9’ deep water, wide lanes, and a custom deep water gutter system. The use of a movable bottom has provided greater flexibility for classes, intramurals, and recreation users but has also benefited varsity athletics during training exercises.
The Tiger Grotto, a custom-designed indoor leisure pool, is flanked by life-like palms, rockscapes, a large screen television and a waterfall that cascades into the whirlpool. The sauna and steam safari shacks have corrugated metal roofs and the hot tub can hold more than twenty people. The Mizzou Beach Club is open-air swimming featuring a bubble pool, beach entry and a raised hearth fireplace.
City of Des Peres leaders wanted their community center to have the appearance and ambiance of a private club. Hastings+Chivetta’s design replicates the warm, inviting environment of a mountain ski lodge. The facade of the Lodge Des Peres integrates cedar and natural stone, which continues into the two-level lobby along with exposed timbers, earth-toned tile patterns and slate floors. Windows surround the top of the lobby’s tower, providing an abundance of daylight to the control desk below. A floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace is in one of the two lounges off the lobby. Social spaces include 1,500 SF of meeting rooms, a kitchen, locker rooms, a snack bar, a classroom and a child care room. Indoor recreation includes a two-court multipurpose gymnasium, a 5,450 SF fitness center, a 1,750 SF exercise room and an elevated track. The indoor aquatic center has a wave pool with zero-depth entry; a five-lane, 25-yard lap pool; a tot pool; a sauna and steam room; and locker rooms. An enclosed tube slide exits and re-enters the building, with a shallow skim-out for younger children. The ceiling is a Douglas fir exposed structural system. The outdoor aquatic center has a zero-depth entry pool, spray fountains, a lazy river, a shallow leisure pool and a 220-foot slide dropping 25 feet to a splash-down pool. A separate outdoor building houses locker rooms, offices and a concession stand. Hastings+Chivetta received an AIA St. Louis Merit Award for Craftmanship on the project.
The Arnold Recreation Center, designed by Hastings+Chivetta, has something for everyone. The main level contains the gymnasium with two 42-foot by 74-foot courts, electronic scoreboards, and bleachers seating over 180 spectators. The upper level houses a three-lane track and a lounge area with vending machines, billiards, foosball and other games. The fitness area provides state-of-the-art cardiovascular and weight-training equipment. Wireless headphones can be used on the treadmills to watch one of four television screens. The multipurpose room can seat 250 or be divided into three private rooms. A full-service kitchen, a party room for children and youth, administrative and staff offices, and a main control desk are also part of the new center’s amenities. The 7,700 SF outdoor pool area, surrounded by mature trees, includes a spray pool, a play area, a current river, two whirlpools and two water slides. A special feature is the bowl slide; after climbing 30 feet into the air, swimmers slide through a water tube into a bowl, which spins them around before splashing them into the water below. The 4,500 SF indoor, heated pool has three 25-yard lanes and an enclosed water slide that runs outside and then back inside. Other features include a bubble couch, a play area, a current river, and a vortex. A family changing room is also included. The Arnold Recreation Center is on a wooded 23-acre site along with the Jefferson County College and City Library. The new center connects to the library through an enclosed walkway, offering members a truly comprehensive community center.