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 construction-ready HVAC, power, and plumbing built for that range, not for an average day that never happens.
Peak Crowds, Court Lighting, and 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 attacks the structure 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 sized to peak occupancy and high activity/latent loads per ASHRAE 62.1
- 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 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 chapter
- Space air maintained roughly 2°F above pool-water temperature to suppress evaporation
- 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, max-to-min uniformity, UGR glare, and CRI matched to the class of play
- 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, wet areas, and pool equipment power
- Scoreboard, shot-clock, AV, and 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 (where applicable), and any concession kitchen equipment
- Backflow protection and pool make-up water 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
- Phasing for occupied facilities and seasonal shutdowns
Quick answers about how we deliver design support for this sector.
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 to suppress evaporation, keep the room slightly negative so humid air doesn't migrate into walls and ceilings, and coordinate the vapor retarder and dew point with the architect so warm, chemical-laden air never reaches a cold surface. Get those wrong and you get dripping structure and corroded steel within a season — so we design them in from the start.
Yes. We size ventilation and cooling to real peak occupancy and the high latent and activity loads these spaces throw, per ASHRAE 62.1, 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, uniformity, glare (UGR), and CRI for the class of play, 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, wet areas, and pool equipment power, 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 recirculation for that simultaneous draw 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 that holds up when every shower runs at once, at safe delivery temperatures.
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