Architects appointed to design Adelaide’s new aquatic centre

JPE Design Studio and Warren and Mahoney have been appointed to design the new $80-million facility to replace the ageing Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

As announced last month by South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, the new facility will be built just south of the existing Centre in North Adelaide’s Park Lands.

The existing 50-year-old facility is to be replaced as a result of rising maintenance costs and several of its feature, including diving boards and spas, having closed because of safety concerns. Once the Centre is demolished, this site will be returned to community parkland.

The announcement follows a four-month public consultation period, which garnered nearly 1,000 submissions from locals and pool users, with 55% backing the proposed location.

South Australian Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the new site will have the same footprint as the existing centre, once it opens in 2026, commenting “in terms of the square-meterage it will probably be like for like, but it might be a different configuration.

“What we’ve decided to do is to set it back to try to retain as many trees and vegetation as we possibly can.”

Premier Malinauskas has committed that the existing Centre will stay open while the replacement facility is built, with construction starting in 2023.

Image: The once state-of-the-art Adelaide Aquatic Centre is to be demolished and replaced by a new $80 million facility designed by JPE Design Studio and Warren and Mahoney. Credit: Adelaide City Council.