Sports, Recreation & Aquatics
Recreation buildings swing from empty to packed in an hour, throw enormous internal and latent loads, and — the moment a pool is in the program — turn into a corrosive, condensation-prone natatorium. We deliver HVAC, power, and plumbing design, prepared for your engineer of record’s review and built for that range, not for an average day that never happens.
Peak Crowds, Court Lighting, and Some of the Hardest Air in the Building.
A rec center is really several buildings at once: a high-bay gym that needs glare-controlled RP-6 lighting and air pushed down to the floor, locker rooms drawing hot water continuously, and a natatorium where 80°F chloramine-laden air near 60% RH puts the dew point around 65°F — one cold surface away from condensation and corrosion — unless the dew point and room pressure are held. We size for peak occupancy, keep the wet side negative to the rest of the building, and run the right power and plumbing into every zone — coordinated with your aquatics consultant and sealed by the licensed engineer of record on your project.
Large-Volume HVAC & Air Distribution
Ventilation and comfort engineered for a full house, not an average day.
- Ventilation per ASHRAE 62.1, with cooling sized to peak occupancy and high activity/latent loads
- High-bay gym and fieldhouse air distribution that throws supply down into the breathing and play zone instead of stratifying at the roof
- Demand-control ventilation and deep occupied/unoccupied setback for swing-shift and overnight hours
- Acoustic and NC-target coordination so equipment doesn't overwhelm play, events, or the PA
- Spectator and assembly-area zoning separated from the playing floor
- Energy modeling to ASHRAE 90.1 / IECC across the building's wildly variable load profile
Natatorium & Pool-Adjacent Systems
The wet side is some of the hardest air in the building — designed to ASHRAE's natatorium guidance, not a generic AHU.
- Dedicated natatorium dehumidification (DOAS/pool unit) holding 50–60% RH per the ASHRAE Applications Handbook natatorium guidance
- Space air maintained roughly 2–4°F above pool-water temperature (not above about 86°F) to suppress evaporation
- Supply air arranged to sweep exterior glazing and cold surfaces, exhaust and relief located clear of the outdoor-air intake to prevent chloramine re-entrainment, and chloramine generation coordinated against the aquatics consultant’s water-chemistry and secondary-disinfection strategy
- Natatorium kept slightly negative (about 0.05–0.15 in. w.c.) so humid, chloramine-laden air stays off the rest of the building
- Low source-capture exhaust at the deck to pull chloramines from the breathing zone
- Vapor-retarder and dew-point coordination with the architect to keep condensation out of the envelope
- Corrosion-resistant duct, coils, and equipment selected for the chemical environment
- Coordination with the aquatics consultant's pool mechanical, water treatment, and UV/secondary-disinfection scope
Electrical, Sports Lighting & Power
Court-grade lighting and the heavy, wet-rated power these buildings actually draw.
- Sports lighting to ANSI/IES RP-6 — illuminance and max-to-min uniformity matched to the class of play, with glare control and CRI appropriate to the venue
- Daylight-responsive, zoned controls so practice, recreation, and event modes each light correctly
- Service and panel capacity for fitness equipment, dehumidification plants, and pool/ice mechanical loads
- NEC Article 680 equipotential bonding and GFCI protection for pool decks and pool equipment power, with other wet-area GFCI per NEC 210.8
- Scoreboard, shot-clock, and AV power, plus assembly emergency/egress lighting per NFPA 101
- Supporting power and disconnects for aquatics-consultant and ice-rink refrigeration equipment
Plumbing & Domestic Hot Water
High-use, wet-environment fixtures and hot water that survives heavy continuous demand.
- Locker-room, shower, and high-use fixture design with master-mixed tempered water and recirculation
- Peak-demand domestic hot-water plant sized for back-to-back team and class showers
- Floor drains, trench drains, and slip-resistant wet-area drainage on the deck and in locker rooms
- ASSE 1017 master tempering at the plant with ASSE 1069 scald-protection mixing valves at the gang showers
- Gas piping for water heating, pool heaters — inputs confirmed with the aquatics consultant early, since they are among the largest single gas loads in the building — and concession kitchen equipment
- Pool make-up water through an air gap or RPZ assembly per the health code, filter backwash routed to drainage per the AHJ, and eyewash/drench protection in chemical storage and filtration rooms — all coordinated with the aquatics consultant
Coordination & Specialty Scope
Clear lines around the specialty consultants, clean MEP around everything else.
- Aquatics consultant carries pool mechanical, filtration, and water treatment — we coordinate the surrounding HVAC, power, and plumbing
- Ice-rink refrigeration by the rink specialist, with our building MEP and dehumidification around it
- Local/state aquatic health requirements (Model Aquatic Health Code where adopted) coordinated with the pool consultant
- Fitness-equipment, scoreboard, and AV vendor power and pathway coordination
- BIM coordination of large ductwork, sports lighting, and structure in high-bay spaces
We design the natatorium air systems — the dehumidification, ventilation, pressurization, and exhaust that hold the space at 50–60% RH and negative to the rest of the building per the ASHRAE Applications Handbook natatorium guidance. The aquatics consultant carries the pool mechanical, filtration, and water treatment; we coordinate tightly with that scope and design corrosion-resistant air systems with source-capture exhaust to pull chloramines from the breathing zone. Behind your seal, both halves of the wet side land as one coordinated set.
Condensation control is the whole game. We hold space air a couple of degrees above pool-water temperature (not above about 86°F) to suppress evaporation, keep the room slightly negative to limit humid air migrating into adjacent spaces and the envelope, and coordinate the air barrier, vapor retarder, and dew point with the architect to keep warm, chemical-laden air off cold surfaces. Get those wrong and condensation and corrosion can damage the structure — so we design them in from the start.
Yes. We size ventilation per ASHRAE 62.1 and cooling to real peak occupancy and the high latent and activity loads these spaces throw, and design high-bay air distribution that actually reaches the breathing and play zone rather than stratifying at the roof. Demand-control ventilation and deep unoccupied setback then keep the building efficient through the long stretches when it sits nearly empty.
Yes. Court and field lighting is designed to ANSI/IES RP-6 — the right illuminance and uniformity for the class of play, glare control and CRI appropriate to the venue, with zoned controls for practice, recreation, and event modes. On the wet side we design the NEC Article 680 equipotential bonding and GFCI protection for pool decks and pool equipment power, with other wet-area GFCI per NEC 210.8, plus the supporting service for the aquatics consultant's gear. That bonding and GFCI scope stays ours even when the pool mechanical doesn't.
To real peak demand, not an average. Locker rooms in a busy facility see back-to-back team and class showers, so we size the hot-water plant and storage for that simultaneous draw, balance the recirculation to hold loop temperature, and add ASSE 1017 master tempering at the plant with ASSE 1069 scald-protection mixing valves at the gang showers. The result is hot water sized for the design simultaneous demand, with code-compliant temperature limiting.