National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects

 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Exterior Photography, Waterfront National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Interior Photography, Windows, Facade National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Image 4 of 28 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Image 5 of 28 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - More Images+ 23

National City, United States
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 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Exterior Photography, Waterfront
© Mike Torrey

Text description provided by the architects. Located fifteen miles north of the U.S./Mexico border in southern San Diego County, CA, the single-story, two-structure center marks the realization of National City’s long-term goal to replace a makeshift facility housed in trailers for over a decade.

 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Exterior Photography
© Darren Bradley

Sited on a scarce section of accessible coastland owned by the Port of San Diego, the 5,500 square-foot complex is positioned on the southern edge of a 5½-acre public park, where it complements the coastline just inside the mouth of the Sweetwater River Channel as it flows into San Diego Bay. Designed to facilitate recreational and educational services for the community, the new center is a key civic amenity and contemporary landmark with unobstructed views towards protected wetlands, San Diego Bay and beyond.

 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Image 4 of 28
© Mike Torrey

The center’s easternmost structure contains a large gathering and educational space beneath a faceted, flying roof. Perched atop its base of glass walls, the roof appears to float as kite gliding into the air, creating a fluid dynamic for its larger counterpart to the west. Inside, the geometries of a saw tooth ceiling are emphasized with maple-shaded laminate layered on micro-perforated aluminum. Carpet in ocean shades of teal, turquoise and aqua blues laid in a sunburst pattern accentuates the dimension of the space. Gull-shaped decals applied as bird strike prevention measures cast playful shadows that 'fly’ through the room as the sun travels across the sky.

 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Interior Photography, Windows, Facade
© Mike Torrey
 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Image 22 of 28
Site Plan
 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Image 7 of 28
© Mike Torrey

Directly to the west, the center’s offices are housed in a 650 square-foot glass box enclosed with 4-foot intermittently-operable windows. The box introduces a large white, concrete block structure used for boat and equipment storage, locker rooms, showers and restrooms. With outward protruding angles and porthole-like rectangular window apertures, the ship-like edifice ‘flows’ up-channel in the wake of the kite structure that leads it. Separate yet unified, the two buildings are enclosed and coalesced with custom galvanized steel gates clad with luminous acrylic resin panels.

 National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Darren Bradley

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Address:United States, Goesno Pl, National City, CA 91950, USA

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: " National City Aquatic Center / Safdie Rabines Architects" 11 May 2016. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/787150/national-city-aquatic-center-safdie-rabines-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

© Darren Bradley

美国加州纳欣诺市水上中心 / Safdie Rabines Architects

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