Chad Baumer Photography
Architect: HKS
Aquatic Designers: Ramaker & Associates, OpenAire
Aquatic Consultant: Ramaker & Associates
General Contractor: Lee Lewis
Pool/Spa/Waterfeature Contractor: Sunbelt Pools
Landscape Architect: TBG Partners
AV/Acoustics/Code & Life Safety: Henderson Engineers
Feasibility Consultant: Hotel & Leisure Advisors
Best of both Worlds
This 80,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, created to serve the community of Grand Prairie, Texas, was designed as part of a 172-acre complex with indoor and outdoor facilities catering to citizens of all ages.
The facility has come to serve as a hub for the city. Designers included plenty of features for all demographics, including 12 water slides, a play structure with slides, an activity pool and children’s area, a surf simulator, 650-foot-long lazy river, retail shop, arcade and various food and beverage operations, as well as spaces for events, parties and meetings.
The team also attributes the space’s success to the enclosure, which offers the benefits of indoors and outdoors. The glass walls and a retractable, translucent polycarbonate roof, invite natural sunlight and provide uninterrupted views of the environment. During warmer months, the roof opens to allow fresh air into the space.
Designers estimate that the sunlight results in energy-cost savings of approximately 27%.
Precise measurements were required to comfortably fit all the features in the enclosure, as well as to arrange for six slides to exit and re-enter the building through the glass walls.
Additionally, with some slides rising so high, the designers and engineers had to carefully plan the tallest points, so they wouldn’t touch the movable roof’s supports.
Suppliers:
Controller/Control System: BECS Technology
Enclosure: OpenAire
Filtration: Neptune-Benson
Interactive Waterfeatures, Slides, Wave Machine: WhiteWater West
Pumps: Aurora