Plans for state-of-the-art pool at Glendale High aquatic center make a splash
The architectural firm that Glendale school officials hired late last year to design the district’s new aquatic center unveiled the pool’s design this week, winning praise from school board members.
“I love it. It looks fabulous,” said school board member Nayiri Nahabedian.
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The aquatic center at Glendale High School will feature a stainless-steel pool that will be 54 meters by 25 yards and 8 feet deep, said Gary Moon, principal architect with Newport Beach-based tBP/Architecture. It will be three times the size of Glendale High’s current pool.
An Olympic-sized pool is 50 meters in length, while an average American pool is 25 yards in length.
The pool will be prefabricated by Myrtha Pools, a company that was founded in Italy and has offices in Sarasota, Fla. It will be the same type of pool used during Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb., said Alan Reising, director of facilities for Glendale Unified.
Because it’s made of steel, it won’t pose the same challenges as a concrete pool would, he said.
“It doesn’t require the sandblasting and replastering that you have to do with a concrete type of pool,” Reising said. “It’s a nice system, and we’ve been looking at those for quite a while.”
Two buildings will be constructed nearby and will house locker rooms, storage, a concession stand and restrooms.
Crews are expected to break ground on the aquatic center in February 2017. It’s scheduled to be complete by April 2018.
The disruption for Glendale High’s swimming and water polo teams will likely lead to them to use acquatic facilities at other schools in the interim, Reising said.
The Glendale Unified School Board approved preliminary designs for the aquatic center, which were drawn up by Corona-based KPI Architects in 2013. But the next year, the owner of that firm passed away, causing the project to stall.
In December 2015, board members awarded tBP/Architecture a $500,000 contract to design the pool.
The firm was also responsible for designing College View School, a Glendale campus for students with special needs. The original building was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. It opened last August.
In all, the aquatic center is expected to cost $11 million and will be paid for with $9.4 million in state funds and $1.6 in Measure S bond funds.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
