Balboa Sports Complex Aquatics Center
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ARCHITECTURAL TEAM | John Sparano, Anne Mooney, Ludwing Juarez, Jorge Beltran, Dan Gasser, Jake Ostlind, Morgan Bennett, Alvin Wang
The Balboa Aquatics Center is located in the Sepulveda Basin of San Fernando Valley. This unique area is one of the largest open public spaces in Southern California, yet it is not utilized to its fullest potential by the community as it is difficult to access and navigate. The 2,000 acre open space is a flood control basin for the LA River that is currently home to golf courses, playgrounds, sports fields, parks, trails and other outdoor recreational activities. With goals of improving the basin to be better suited for public leisure, natural habitats, cultural spaces and recreation, the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering closely collaborated with the surrounding community to create a long-term plan for the area, ultimately titled the Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan.
The Balboa Aquatics Center is the first project to transpire from the Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan. This new facility will be completed in two phases and will include a state-of-the-art bathhouse, a recreation pool, a competition pool with bleacher seating, new site parking, mechanical pump rooms for pool operation and scenic trails meandering through the site. The entire facility is designed to be fully electric, pioneering the effort for electrically-heated pools and bathhouses in Los Angeles. This project is kick-starting years of conversation and participation from the community, turning their ambitions and actions into a reality. Its design must be mindful and considerate of the future projects that will begin to populate the basin.
