The Metropolitan Aquatic Center was designed to replace an obsolete pool facility located on a public high school campus. The new building design and construction, funded by the District of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, was intended to serve both the students attending the high school and members of the surrounding community. The “state-of-the-art” facility features a 25-yard X 50-meter competition pool with diving boards, a wellness/leisure pool, an adult whirlpool, spectator seating, and locker rooms with family changing cabanas. The building officially opened in 2009.

Since 2009, there have been some advancements in aquatic design, which improve indoor air quality, reduce building heating and cooling loads, and improve the overall function of the facility. One such advancement, is the source capture and exhaust strategy. Using computational fluid dynamics, the effectiveness of implementing such a strategies was analyzed at the Metropolitan Aquatic Center. The source capture and exhaust system proved to be effective, although there were some modeling limitations. 

The Metropolitan Aquatic Center has a high heating demand as a result of pool water heating and domestic hot water heating. A feasibility study of a combined heat and power system was completed. The reports show that a CHP system would be more efficient, but not necessarily the most economical option. The impacts of a CHP system on the building electrical distribution system were analyzed and included with the feasibility study. An option to replace legacy lighting with LEDs was also included in the study, which would reduce building electric demands at peak loading, when electricity from the grid is required.

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