Stetson University Debuts New Aquatic Center

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DeLand, FL - The home of the Hatters shows off a brand new aquatic center that will host classrooms and research space for environmental sciences.

The new facility is known as the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center, named after the great-granddaughter of John Stetson, and will boast some features not just for Stetson University, but also for the public.

"The aquatic center will house both our rowing team and our Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience," says Al Allen, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management at Stetson. "In addition, there is public access for canoes and kayaks."

The site will also host trails for the public as well as elevated walkways that lead to the water's edge. That's where the public will be able to access to Lake Beresford.

The inside of the facility will be the home to Stetson's IWER program, as well as the Stetson Men's and Women's rowing teams. It will also include spaces for classroom instruction and research in environmental sciences.

And Allen says the facility is already expected to earn a new certification.

The certification is known as the Green Globe certification and it would symbolize the site as an environmentally responsible building.

The building is designed by Preston Phillips, an architect, and friend of Sandra Stetson's, and is constructed primarily of concrete and features a green, standing seam metal roof that was designed to resemble the hull of a ship.

The roof, according to Allen, is part of why the building is up for the Green Globe certification. The roof has a life span of 50 years. When it's time to replace the roof, instead of sitting in a landfill as most shingle roofs do, this roof can be completely recycled, as its construction is all metal.

Photo courtesy of Matt Adair, Director of Project and Construction Management at Stetson.