PCL Aquatics Centre 2012 has won the bidding to design and construct the new aquatics centre and field house complex at UTSC, which will host several of the sports events at the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, as well as provide the eastern GTA with unparalleled athletic opportunities for decades to come. The winning team consists of developer and contractor PCL Constructors Canada and designer NORR Ltd.
NORR’s senior principal of architectural design, David Clusiau, recently told The Globe and Mail that the winning design for the building was partly inspired by the undulating, glacially formed landscape of southern Ontario. “It gives [the aquatics centre] a dynamic silhouette and makes it more of a landmark building, both for the Games and the community.”
The announcement of the winner and the release of the artist’s renderings herald an important next step for the campus, says Professor Franco Vaccarino, principal of UTSC. “For everyone who has worked so hard on this project from day one, it is enormously gratifying to be able to see what this world-class aquatics and athletics facility will look like. Now we can begin to actually visualize how this new building is going to transform the campus and the region.”
A groundbreaking event for the new facility will be held in September.