Sports facilities that won’t cost the earth

Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Center

Los Angeles, CA, USA

The Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Center is part of the City of Los Angeles’ vision to develop the 29 acre Rancho Cienega Regional Park in line with wider community improvement plans.

Buro Happold and SPF:a won the original design competition for all redevelopments throughout the park, including this sports complex. Liaising with both our client and the stakeholders enabled the project team to design the 40,000ft2 high-performance facility that meets all their requirements, and includes a 16,000ft2 gymnasium, 23,000ft2 pool facility, as well as a walking track, seating area and enclosed garden.

Intuitive water recycling solution contributes to green design

Solutions include a photo-voltaic array, which will generate more than 13% of the building’s energy requirements

Buro Happold and SPF:a won the design competition for all redevelopments throughout the park

Challenge

A key challenge for the Buro Happold team was that funding was provided from a number of sources, so there are a variety of stakeholders whose aims must be aligned and met.

Additionally, energy efficiency is a key concern for our client. We needed to keep this at the forefront of our minds when devising both the structural and MEP strategies for the complex.

Solution

By working closely with the architect, we created a modular design with north and south operable walls that open to provide natural ventilation and increase the available area inside the building. The existing, outdated pool complex was demolished, but the old pool was retained and is used as a water cistern for reclaimed water. This reatined water is then reused throughout the new complex, further improving its sustainable credentials.

In addition, we looked to harness sources of renewable energy wherever possible. For example, we have incorporated a photovoltaic array into our design, which is capable of generating more than 13% of the building’s energy requirements.

Liaising with both our client and the stakeholders enabled the project team to design a high-performance facility that meets all their requirements and includes a gym, fitness annex and indoor pool as well as a community meeting room, classrooms, staff offices and a plaza area that can be used for public events.

Ron Elad, Associate Principal, Technical Designer

Value

Now completed, the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Center provides fantastic amenities for the whole community to enjoy. Through a highly efficient design and the added renewable energy, the project is pursuing the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) Net Zero Energy certification for the gymnasium. Our work has ensured that the project is on target to meet our client’s sustainability goals and achieve LEED Gold certification and be the City of Los Angeles’ first net zero community center.