QUEEN CREEK RECREATION + AQUATIC CENTER
INSPIRED DESIGN:
The 68,671 SF indoor recreation center includes various sports courts for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball, a fitness area, teen room, childcare, classrooms, walking track, teaching kitchen and community meeting spaces. A large covered patio area is adjacent to the community meeting spaces and provides views of the lake. The facility also houses administration offices with a combination of individual offices and a bullpen office layout with cubicles. The outdoor aquatic center includes a zero-depth entry play pool, competition/lap pool, lazy river and slides.
THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP:
The design incorporated the use of modular spaces that can be used for a variety of purposes within the facility. Flexibility, adaptability and materiality were primary drivers in the design and implemented with simple plans, flooring considerations, the use of monitors, demising walls and the creation of zones. From a technical perspective, acoustics, AV/IT controls, HVAC zoning, lighting and daylight controls, and indoor/outdoor connections were designed to support the goals of flexibility and adaptability.
CREATIVE TEAMWORK:
The opening of this facility has had a profound and immediate impact on the Queen Creek community. Long underserved in terms of recreational infrastructure, the town had experienced years of rapid population growth without a corresponding expansion in public amenities. QCRAC changed that narrative—delivering not just a facility, but a transformative community asset.
Since its debut, the center has become a vibrant hub of activity. Resident engagement has far exceeded initial projections, with families, teens, seniors, and individuals of all abilities embracing the space as part of their daily lives. From early morning workouts to afternoon swim events, the facility pulses with energy and connection.
