The Country Club of Virginia Aquatic Center

The five-pool aquatics center replaces the existing 40-year-old pool complex and takes advantage of a prominent sloping site on the club’s grounds adjacent to the main clubhouse. The site, with its nearly 15 feet of vertical elevation change, posed a clear challenge to the goal of providing the membership with a fully accessible facility.  The resulting design solution has the locker room and snack bar facilities built into the hillside with paved rooftop terraces and a series of three expansive pool decks that step down the site with retaining walls, ramps and stairs carefully integrated into the design, allowing full access for members of all ages and abilities. The pools consist of a 6-lane adult pool with infinity edge, a recreation pool with zero-depth entry, an 8-lane 25-meter competition pool, a diving well with swim-outs, and a baby pool with fountains surrounded by 39,500 sf of deck. Additionally, the design incorporates distinct freestanding structures for both the pool office and main entrance, along with numerous pergolas and shade structures integrated throughout.

A highly interactive design process involving club members and staff facilitated the exploration of numerous concepts, culminating in a complex that preserved the clubhouse’s prominence while capitalizing on the panoramic views offered by the site. In particular, the dining terrace offers panoramic views to the surrounding golf course and the aquatics center itself, while the view from the end of the infinity pool provides a special perspective to the course’s 18th green and fairway. The membership has been extremely enthusiastic for the project and in the words of the club manager, the aquatics center “has certainly exceeded all of our expectations and is a true compliment to our other facilities.”