Many cities and municipalities have a real challenge when it comes to the maintenance and operation of sports and recreation centres. EQUANS can help them via sustainable infrastructure and energy-efficient engineering, unburdening the owners by taking on the operation of the building. A good example is the new intermunicipal swimming pool in Aartselaar, which is scheduled to receive its first visitors at the beginning of 2022.
The former swimming pool on the Aartselaar sports grounds needed replacement, so the municipalities of Aartselaar, Hemiksem, and Niel decided to develop a new intermunicipal swimming pool. The building was named DOK~3, referring to the local dialect for ‘swimming pool’. The Water Process department from the EQUANS ‘Infra’ business unit took charge of the entire project. Project Manager Caroline Vandijck took the lead and fully coordinated this fabulous project, including implementation of all the technical elements, such as water treatment, electrical installations, sanitary systems, and HVAC. Colleagues from Smart Buildings took responsibility for the building. EQUANS will also maintain and operate these installations for the next two years. The architectural part of the project was entrusted to Strabag within the consortium, while Tractebel Engie was responsible for the design, stability study, BIM coordination, and safety. And because it was a Design & Build project, LD-Architecten was also involved.
15% more energy efficient than required
The new swimming pool is not only aesthetically impressive, the engineering used is also entirely devoted to saving energy. For example, the fans are frequency controlled to regulate airflow according to what is required at the time. Heat is also recuperated from the extracted air. Heat is generated using condensing boilers, while there is underfloor heating in the changing rooms, cafeteria, and entrance hall. Solar panels to handle 100 kW peak demand (286 panels generating 375 W each) were placed on the roof. With all the various energy-efficient installations combined Dok~3 is no less than 15% more energy efficient than the legal BEN requirement of 2019 when the project started.
Rainwater used for swimming pool water
Ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis are used to recover up to 70% of the wastewater, which is mostly made up of rinse water from the sand filters. But another striking feature of DOK~3 is that the installation can also be used to treat rainwater. This means rainwater can be used as swimming pool water, which is quite unheard of. As a result, only a fraction of the rinse water needs to be added to the water treatment system as tap water.
Thoughtful details
The practical details in the design were also well-thought-out. For example, a great deal of attention was paid to facilities for wheelchair users, the lockers use pin codes instead of loose change, and special touchscreen walls have been installed for swimming competitions. A choice was made to use salt electrolysis for the chemical purification of the water, which is safer to transport than chlorine. All of this is what makes DOK~3 a completely future proof building that swimmers from Aartselaar, Hemiksem, and Niel will be able to enjoy for many years to come.
