Batemans Bay Aquatic & Arts Leisure Centre
A place for art and sports
Location:
Batemans Bay, NSW 2536, Australia
Architecture:
NBRS & Donovan Payne
Design of load-bearing structures:
Rubner
Client:
Eurobodalla Shire Council
Dimensions:
163 m³ spruce glulam
Batemans Bay Aquatic & Arts Leisure Centre is a venue for artistic and sporting adventures. This purpose-built facility can host water sports, recreational and fitness activities, not to mention creative arts programmes for the local New South Wales community. While one pavilion houses three swimming pools, a gymnasium, and a tower with waterslides, the other features a 350-seat theatre with retractable seating, a rehearsal space and an art studio.
“Thanks to its net storage effect, the Batemans Bay project makes an active contribution to climate protection of around 89.2 tonnes of CO2e. This storage effect is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 99,000 tonne/kilometres.”
Paolo Aschieri, Theca Timber
We used over 163 m³ of spruce glulam for the water areas, all with a coating suitable for swimming pools. The maximum span of the longest elements was 33 metres; these were divided into three smaller parts for transportation. The design was envisaged as a kind of bowstring of hybrid wooden beams, with a solid, flat glulam part above and a tensioning cable below. We were able to implement the intended design by adjusting each dimension for load tracking, manufacturability and ease of installation. This project was completed in 2021.
