ur dream indoor waterpark is an object of pure fantasy, a place where a family can go and restore itself 365 days out of the year.
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The current design trends regarding indoor waterparks within the United States leave a lot to be desired. They tend to be unimpressive, and perhaps frenetic. Therefore, our park would focus on the experience. The experience would be different each time you revisited the facility.
The location is found somewhere between Las Vegas and Paradise. The more practical side of the industry requires that we establish a location that is cold in the winter and cool in the summer. Nature provides the model for our dream park: the integration between the natural and the man-made, blending seamlessly from one to the other.
Children will play in treehouses that look as if they sprouted up out of the water. Slides will resemble the oldest water slide that Polynesians still use today. Paths will be integrated into a landscape of plants and trees. Water will fall, tumble and cascade from elements that appear more natural and less fabricated. Nature will be defied by water slides that flow uphill and standing waves that go nowhere as surfers try out new tricks and stunts to impress a gathering audience. The park will have an amphitheater where the art and grace of simulated surfing, water ballet and diving can be acted out on an aquatic stage.
Throughout the park, a river will flow through caverns and wave pools. It will meander under water slides and between a forest of trees. The river will then split over rapids, flowing down flumes into quiet pools of water.
Sunlight will fill the area, making it hard to discern between being indoors or outside. The transparent dome will utilize translucent polyethylene film pillows of air, which will allow for the transmittal of the sun’s tanning rays. Tropical plants will thrive as they reach for the top of the dome. The park will become greener and greener as it matures.
For relaxation, there will be saunas and a steam room where guests can sit looking out into the park while absorbing the cleansing heat. When they emerge from the sauna, they can quickly immerse themselves in a pool of ice-cold water, only to return to the sauna for another hot-to-cold immersion. For a quick respite, they will find spaces tucked away from the active park to relax, perhaps for a nap or to read a book.
The controlled environment will include waterfeatures managed by energy-control systems. Electricity will be generated on site with the residual heat from the generators used to heat the pools and cool the building. Fresh air will circulate throughout the building. Roof vents will automatically open, allowing hot, humid air to naturally leave the facility. Chloramines will be reduced by passing water through media beds. This process removes both the organic and nitrogen compounds while chloramines are converted to useful chlorine. Automatic chlorine generators perform water sanitation. All of these systems will be handled by a central control that is programmed to understand the correlation between water quality and air quality.
The design emphasis of our dream indoor waterpark would be on restoring the “park” element back into the waterpark experience. This would improve the experiences of the users while meeting the needs of the community. A continuum of design intent would flow throughout the park. For this idea to truly succeed, its concept would require the timeless features that create dream facilities.
Treadwell Jones