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Meadows Community Recreation Centre & Library by Robin Brunet courtesy city of edmonton T raditionally, community centres tend to be utilitarian in design: interior components laid out in an uninspiring fashion and the exterior appearance leaning towards dark and boxy. But when it came time to develop The Meadows Community Recreation Centre and The Meadows Library in southeast Edmonton, the project team knew the facility would be the exception to the rule. That's because the owner is the City of Edmonton, well- known for providing world-class amenities to its citizens. "Its people are the antithesis of bureaucrats who cut corners," says Troy Smith, principal in the Saskatoon studio of Group2 Architecture Interior Design Ltd. The new 234,419-square-foot The Meadows is bright and sleek in appearance, with tilted support beams augmenting a striking angular wood canopy and floor to ceiling glazing. Inside this distinctly modernistic building are a twin-pad ice arena, public library, a 10-lane/25-metre-long main pool (and five-metre-high diving platform), large hot tub and lei- sure pool, fitness centre, a double gymnasium, indoor play- ground and multi-purpose rooms. Outdoor elements include a spray pad, leisure ice skate loop, reading garden and a multi-purpose sport court. A play- ground, skateboard park and community garden are compo- nents that may be added in the near future. In keeping with the City's forward-thinking approach to public facility development, The Meadows is aiming for LEED Silver certification and includes a green roof, efficient mechanical systems, cutting-edge pool filtration systems, daylight harvesting and reduced water consumption. Michael Schneider, program manager at City of Edmonton, points out that the creation of an exceptional community cen- tre was crucial for practical reasons. "Multi-purpose recre- ation facilities had been developed in outlying communities, requiring Edmontonions to leave town for family fun," he says. "So we updated our master plan and decided to build four facilities within city limits: Terwillegar and Commonwealth, which are already complete, and the next two being Clareview and The Meadows, which are almost complete." Group2 was retained in 2009 along with Toronto-based Perkins+Will Canada, which has extensive experience in recreation centre development. "We first determined the overall design objectives with the City, and then we divided portions of the facility as well as portions of the working drawings and site administration," says Smith. While the overall design was a collaborative The new 234,419-square-foot The Meadows is bright and sleek in appearance, with tilted support beams augmenting a striking angular wood canopy and floor to ceiling glazing. courtesy Group2 Architecture interior desiGn inc. Meadows community recreation centre & Library

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