 Philosophy
Every community
is unique and as a result, we tailor our designs to suit specific
community needs. Our design philosophy is very simple, we work well
with the community, and we are good listeners; the result…
our facilities are popular and successful, yet not overstated.
The traditional
clinical and institutional approach to the design of community and
recreation centres is, in these days of increased leisure time,
totally inadequate. A new design philosophy, consistently promoted
by our team, is fast now being adopted by all authorities contemplating
the construction of new recreation centres or retrofitting their
older facilities.
 Gone
are the days when these facilities catered only to the serious athlete
or specific user. Too many municipal recreation buildings have become
a major burden on the taxpayer as a result of this approach.
Any new facility
should be designed around a social “heart.” In our view,
it is essential that participants and spectators alike are afforded
the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of one another, while
being at the centre of activity.
Our sense of
functional programming in leisure facilities comes from our long
and extensive experience in that field... and with people. A vision
turned into a plan of implementation, with costing right through
the process, before design, before the vision is frozen.
 We
see cost realities as a creative, integral part of the functional
programming, not as a result of it.
Designed for
the user, not as a monument, community and recreation centres should
be simple, tasteful, exciting, easily managed, and planned accordingly.
Not pretentious, but certainly practical in every way, they should
be “fun” places to be.
“Keep them
entertained and they are bound to come back” is, in a nutshell,
a key to the VDA approach to designing modern day leisure facilities.
High use means high income. The field of leisure facility design
has advanced rapidly within the last few years. VDA is at the forefront
of this design revolution. Total commitment to, and involvement
in, the design and production process is essential to the successful
completion of any recreational facility.
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