Sea Otter House (təməsew̓txʷ ) Aquatic and Community Centre in New Westminster (left) and Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre in Burnaby (right). (Daniel Chai | Kenneth Chan)
Two striking new recreation facilities in Metro Vancouver have earned international recognition after winning prestigious architectural design awards from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), spotlighting the region's growing reputation for innovative community facilities.
The IOC and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) Architecture Prize -- also simply known as the "IOC IAKS Architecture Prize" -- is a biennial award recognizing outstanding sports, leisure, and recreational facility design.
For the 2025 awards this past fall, both Metro Vancouver winners were designed by Vancouver-based architectural firm HCMA, with the projects -- both completed and opened in Spring 2024 -- praised for blending community-focused recreation with sustainable, forward-thinking design, placing the region on the global stage for excellence in sports and civic architecture.
Replacing Canada Games Pool and Centennial Community Centre, the City of New Westminster's $114-million new Sea Otter House (təməsew̓txʷ ) Aquatic and Community Centre is described by the jury verdict as "a place where everyone can come together and enjoy being active. Designed for recreation today and in the future, the centre offers an inclusive, barrier-free space for swimming, bathing, recreation fitness, and fostering connections."
It has an eight-lane, 50-metre lap swimming pool, a leisure pool with 25-metre lap swimming lanes, spray features, and a lazy river, and a hot pool and sauna, as well as a fitness centre, two gymnasiums, various multi-purpose rooms, and childcare.
It is Canada's first all-electric aquatic centre and the first in the country to use a gravity-fed filtration system, significantly reducing energy consumption. The facility also features solar panels on its south-facing rooftop and has been recognized for its seamless integration into the surrounding landscape, the use of mass-timber materials, and its expansive interior spaces and circulation areas.
As for the other award-winning project, the City of Burnaby's $54-million new Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre provides the Edmonds neighbourhood with two ice rinks -- each with seating for up to 200 spectators.
It is described by the jury as an "architecturally stunning" complex, oriented around an interior linear lobby that "provides exceptional views of both ice rinks and the mezzanine level above. Visitors can immediately grasp the building's layout and appreciate its initial impression upon arrival... This design feature provides an exceptional space for social interaction for both skaters and non-skaters."
It is also recognized for its extensive use of mass-timber materials, which not only create a warm and inviting atmosphere but also leverage wood's natural ability to manage fluctuations in humidity, helping to maintain a stable and comfortable playing environment.
Metro Vancouver -- driven in part by several projects initiated by the City of Burnaby -- is in the midst of a building boom of new community and recreation facilities. The completion of both award-winning projects marks the first in a series of developments currently underway or planned across the region.
For 2025, the IOC IAKS Architecture Prize presented nine awards, selected from 69 competition entries representing 25 countries. The competition was first established in 1987.
At the previous IOC IAKS awards in 2023, three recently-built Metro Vancouver projects were recognized: the new outdoor stadium atop Simon Fraser University's Burnaby Mountain campus, designed by Perkins&Will; Rainbow Park in downtown Vancouver, designed by Dialog; and the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre expansion, designed by Shape Architecture.
Metro Vancouver projects were also honoured in the 2021 awards, including Concord Pacific's Community Pop-Up Park in Northeast False Creek in downtown Vancouver, designed by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects; the Clayton Community Centre in Surrey, designed by HCMA; and the Minoru Centre for Active Living in Richmond, also designed by HCMA.