old, rainy days can quickly transform outdoor waterparks into ghost towns. But operators of indoor waterparks can weather a freezing December morning as easily as a scorching summer day.
Prospective owners and operators of indoor waterparks shouldn’t think, however, that a year-round season is a walk in the (water) park. High construction costs, complex design issues, constant monitoring of indoor air quality and difficulty in attracting guests all challenge the success of an indoor waterpark.
But if done properly, the result can be a year-round attraction that provides guests with an oasis of aquatic activities and owners with steady revenue streams.
Success by design
Indoor waterparks have many of the same rides and features as their bigger, outdoor peers. But indoor development creates a number of design and construction challenges that aren’t factors in the outdoor realm.
An outdoor waterpark spread over several acres can designate areas for each attraction. But designers of indoor waterparks work with a much smaller canvas, which makes even the most minute detail important. Tight quarters place more emphasis on the creative abilities of designers, who are challenged to meet the capacity needs of the facility.
“There’s a lot more overlapping,” says Mark Baginski, director of planning at Aquatic Development Group, a design, engineering and construction firm based in Cohoes, N.Y. “With the space considerations you’re faced with indoors, you might have a slide going right over a wave pool.”
The amount of indoor space generally dictates the size of the attractions, and even small indoor waterparks must include specific staples, says Terry Ramaker, president of Ramaker & Associates, a consulting and engineering firm based in Sauk City, Wis.
“If it’s a smaller facility, under 15,000 square feet, in most cases there’s an indoor/outdoor spa that’s well-themed, a kiddie attraction and a sizable activity pool for older age groups,” says Ramaker, who has worked on more than 50 indoor waterparks. “Those three elements, plus a slide, are mandatory.”
More options, such as wave-generating equipment and lazy rivers, are available for larger indoor parks in the 40,000-square-foot range.
“A wave pool takes up a lot of space and if you’ve got lots of space…that’s great,” says David Orr, vice president of sales at Amusement Leisure Worldwide, an engineering and design firm based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “But that’s not the case in indoor waterparks.”
When Ramaker designs an indoor wave pool, he reduces the large expanse of 1-foot-deep water common to many outdoor wave pools. “We just don’t have the big fan shape,” Ramaker says. “The space is more utilized.”
By sloping more rapidly from zero depth to a depth where guests can actively enjoy the waves, Ramaker says wave pools can be just as fun, even if they’re smaller.
One of the biggest differences between designing indoor and outdoor waterparks is not having the freedom to reach for the sky. “The height consideration is a big factor because height dictates the length of your ride,” Orr says.
Ceilings must be at least 25 feet high to accommodate rides, says Ramaker. Some jurisdictions may have height ordinances, which can determine a ride’s height. For local knowledge, Ramaker says having a local architect on the project keeps the design firm abreast of local ordinances and helps avoids costly mishaps.
Many designers use the outside of the building to accommodate a portion of a water slide’s flume. This gives designers more flexibility and makes the facility appear less cluttered. “It makes the room friendly and not so congested,” Ramaker says. “It gives more of an open feeling.”
A sound plan
|
|
| Because the large equipment needed to operate attractions creates a lot of noise, designers often use vegetation and landscaping to absorb some of the sounds. Artificial noises tied into themes, such as the whistle of a train (above), also are used to drown out the sound of pool equipment. |
Designers try not only to avoid cluttering indoor areas with attractions, but they also aim to avoid cluttering the air with the sound of mechanical equipment. Sounds are magnified in enclosed areas, and designers must eliminate excessive noise so guests enjoy their visit.
To muffle the sound of equipment, some designers employ vegetation and transparent roofing structures made of layers of Mylar that absorb sound, Baginski says. Designers also cover the noise that equipment makes with more appealing sounds, such as cascading water or other white noise.
Wave machines traditionally generate the most noise, so Ramaker tries to position the wave-generating equipment as far away from the guests as possible.
A facility’s theming also can play a role in noise reduction. “We like to use timber if we possibly can,” Ramaker says. “It’s a theming product and, while it’s a little more expensive, it has acoustical values. We use waterfalls that muffle the sound, and the wood tends to absorb the sound compared to a stark, metal building.”
Ramaker has also been employing a newer technique to reduce the sounds of equipment — creating noises, such as train whistles, as part of the theme.
The air in there
As indoor waterparks get bigger and bigger, the need for larger, more powerful dehumidification equipment increases. And this equipment is expensive; for example, the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., spent nearly $1 million on air-quality equipment for its 60,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.
With the high cost of air-handling equipment, some owners attempt to skimp on this component. “The air handling is where an owner figures he can save some money,” Orr says. “One of the first things we ask is, ‘Who is the HVAC consultant?’ We’ve seen some real bad situations where the guy doesn’t understand it. It’s a whole new design of air flow and chlorine being dispersed. It’s just not a place where you want to try and save a few bucks.”
When owners refuse to spend $2,000 or so up front for the proper equipment and design, they often end up spending $500,000 at a later date, says Orr. Usually, they end up replacing an inadequate system or repairing corroded equipment and building materials.
The cost of HVAC equipment is high because an indoor waterpark puts far greater demands on an air-handling system than a traditional indoor pool does. Spray features, splashing from water slides, and warm and shallow water all contribute to excessive evaporation and chloramine dispersement into the air.
Given the importance of air quality, Ramaker insists that his firm handle the HVAC design for all his projects. Ramaker says that HVAC systems cost $12 to $15 per square foot of building space. With large facilities such as Kalahari, design mistakes can be devastating.
“The old philosophy in design was that you wanted to make sure you had excessive air movement across the face of the water,” Ramaker says. “In the indoor waterparks, you have to make sure you have uniform air movement throughout the building.”
Determining exactly how much air flow, however, can be challenging. A certain amount of guesswork comes into play because spraying features typically don’t come with evaporation rates, says Ralph Kittler, vice president of sales at Dectron International, a manufacturer of dehumidification equipment based in St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada.
A well-trained staff can help, Ramaker says. “[Maintaining] water-quality equipment takes know-how. We try to encourage [operators] to get their people to the right certification classes.”
