Location: Ketchikan, Alaska
Client: Ketchikan Gateway Borough
Market Sectors: Community
The Ketchikan Aquatic Center was designed by Architects Alaska to provide local residents with an 8-lane, competitive sized swimming pool. The project includes a diving well, a separate zero-entry, recreation pool with a play structure, and water slides. Locker rooms, a fitness/weight training room, lobby space, administrative areas, and spectator seating were also provided.
The project is located in a heavy maritime community in southeast Alaska; therefore, careful consideration was made to choose building materials that were capable of handling constant exposure to the environment. The site also had significant drainage issues due to the high water table that had to be addressed during the design stage. As part of this project, an Energy Study was completed to identify low maintenance, energy-efficient solutions for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. This included evaluating traditional sources such as electrical and fuel oil boilers, as well as alternative energy sources such as biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps.
Extensive community outreach with users, community members, and other stakeholders was a key component of this project. The building site was shared with an adjacent school and a nearby vehicle maintenance shop.
