Shiny Metal Tiles Create a Splash for School’s New Aquatic Center
Fort Worth, Texas, recently was named the second fastest-growing city in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau, and this growth is quickly spreading into surrounding suburbs. The 27,000-student Northwest Independent School District offers one example. A December 2021 report noted more than 4,300 new home starts within the district’s borders in just the previous year, with 2,200 new students enrolling during the same period.
District leaders know that amenities are important to these new arrivals and recently unveiled the system’s first aquatic center, with Olympic-quality swimming and diving facilities – and an eye-catching exterior design highlighted with a wall of reflective metal tiles. The new 80,000-square-foot center, which includes a 50-meter competition pool and a 25-yard practice pool, along with space for weight training and sports medicine, has been a long time coming. The district’s four high schools have had to rent practice time from other districts for their swimming and diving teams for years. Now, they’ll be able to host events for others, with ample seating for 850 spectators.