The 13,300-square-foot outdoor pool, which was used during the 1996 Summer Olympics, serves as the anchor for the $45 million, 289,000-square-foot rec center complex that includes a 100,000-square-foot Aquatic Center enclosing the competition pool. It presented design challenges for engineer Michael Saunders of Lee Co., Franklin, Tenn., and the architectural firm of Hastings + Chivetta of St. Louis.
The original 1.5-million gallon swimming/driving pools with their 115-foot rain/sun shelter and rooftop photovoltaic cells were to remain as part of a research project being run by the college, Georgia Power, and the U.S. Department of Energy. That solar system was factored in to provide 30 percent of the new building's power.