As the first surf park in North America, and the largest of its kind in the world, NLand Surf Park brings major waves inland to Austin, Texas. From steep, head-high Reef Waves to gentle Bay Waves, NLand caters to surfers of all levels.
Just 5 years after opening, Meridian School was serving a population of over 1,000 students, with nearly 1,400 more on a waiting list. The conversion of an existing warehouse into new learning space helped the school to expand offerings and support their vision of nurturing lifelong learners, allowing more than 1,400 K-12 students to develop skills for inquiry and research.
Bringing world class surfing to a landlocked location was no easy feat. The 160 acre park contains a 10 acre lagoon filled with 11 million gallons of reclaimed water. The sheer size of the project, as well as the specialized requirements for electrical and life safety around a large body of water, was further complicated by a geographically dispersed design team.
Understanding that this project was the first of its kind in North America, our team worked hard to research building, code, and local requirements. By reaching out to industry experts and making sure we had a complete understanding of lagoon operations and design requirements, we were able to quickly problem solve to resolve issues, like substitutions to equipment, during construction. Bonus, our team learned how to surf!
Communication was critical for this project. Design charrettes with the entire design team afforded us the opportunity to really understand the client’s vision, and work with Wavegarden – the designer of the wave technology based in Spain – to ensure NLand met the needs of Phase 1, while having all the necessary infrastructure for the future buildout of the site.
Compartmentalizing the project into smaller designs of different buildings and spaces improved delivery of the project. It also allows for future phases of the project to have the same look and feel, even though they’ll be built at different times.
Features:
· Lagoon utilizes reclaimed water captured on the project site.
· Full LED lighting package throughout the site.
· Low flow plumbing fixtures in restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms.
· Highly efficient VRF type HVAC in all conditioned buildings.
