Committee Favors In-Building Swimming Pool for New Civic Center at Guild School-October 10, 1980

The Permanent Building Committee appears to favor an innovative architectural design for a new Civic Center at the Guild School that would preserve the building’s exterior appearance by constructing an indoor swimming pool entirely within the existing structure.

While stopping short of formally selecting an architect last night, the committee agreed to conduct follow-up interviews with Sasaki Associates of Watertown. The firm’s proposal stands out by opting to place a new swimming pool inside the current Guild building rather than building an external addition, as proposed by competing architects.

“There is a risk involved,” acknowledged committeeman William Ward. “They are going to study the concept of gutting the front part of the building for a pool, but if the design does not work, they will go to alternative designs and it could be more costly.”

Despite potential engineering hurdles, the majority of the committee felt that Sasaki’s design and presentation were superior to those submitted by four other competing firms.

Funding and Multi-Level Layout

The town has $2.3 million—derived from the sale of the former Civic Center site to Norwood Hospital—earmarked to build new recreational facilities at the Guild School, located directly across the street. All architectural proposals submitted have come in close to or just under that budget.

Sasaki’s proposal outlines an ambitious multi-level transformation:

• Basement Level: Housing the new indoor swimming pool.
• Second Level: Featuring a gymnasium located directly above the pool.
• Third Level (New Addition): Created by raising the roof and adding a third floor to the main building to house a running track and a spectator gallery.

The firm’s estimated cost for the project is $1.9 million, which includes a 10 percent allocation for architectural fees. Two optional fallback plans presented by Sasaki involved constructing a pool addition to either the front or the rear of the building.

Committee Reactions and Caution

Not all members were entirely convinced without reservation. Committee member Ernest Patchiekowski expressed concern over engineering logistics: “I think the idea is terrific, but I am leary of putting a pool inside a building. Pools usually have maintenance problems and it is difficult if there’s a building above it.”

John Orcutt of Sasaki Associates informed the committee that his firm would require $30,000 of the total architectural fee upfront to thoroughly study the structural feasibility of the indoor pool design.

When Ward cautioned that Sasaki’s concept could ultimately exceed estimated costs compared to traditional low bids, Committee Chairman Roger Pellitier defended a broader perspective: “The last few jobs we have had done were by the low bidder and they were low-bid jobs. We had problems.”

Preserving the school’s architecture has been a central theme throughout the planning process. Both citizens and committee members repeatedly voiced concern that adding a pool to the front of the school would ruin the existing Georgian facade.

Although town meeting previously appropriated $180,000 for preliminary planning, the building committee does not anticipate returning to town meeting for formal construction appropriations until early next year.

Additional Business: Eliot Field Athletic Development

In other business during last night’s session, the committee agreed to insert an article into the November 17 special town meeting warrant requesting funds from the Civic Center sale proceeds to develop new athletic fields at Eliot Field in South Norwood. A specific dollar amount for the field development has not yet been finalized.

Other architectural firms interviewed by the committee during the selection process include:

• Hoskins Scott Taylor and Partners (Boston)
• Rich, Lang & Cote (Newton)
• Korslund, LeNormand & Quann (Norwood)
• Campbell & Searson (Cambridge)

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger