Kayla's Children's Centre

Client: G Architects

Location: Thornhill, Ontario

The new Hydrotherapy Pool expansion at Kayla's Children Centre in Thornhill, Ontario provides vital learning and therapy opportunities to the children that attend the centre, and is a much needed addition to the entire region.

Kayla's Children Centre (KCC) is a school, therapy clinic, and recreational centre for children with disabilities, behavioral challenges, and complex medical needs. The centre supports children ages 6 weeks to 18 years who have a wide range of disabilities and provides a variety of specialized programs that enable them to flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. KCC also offers personalized supports and respite for families. KCC’s programs include a licensed day care and specialized school, an on-site therapy centre, , day and overnight camps, an after-school and weekend respite, adapted sports, life skills programs for teens, and of course the new state-of-the-art hydrotherapy centre.

The new pool, designed by Aqua Plans Aquatic Consultants Inc., features full accessible friendly entry, via a large gradually sloped ramp, large teaching steps of varying sizes and depths, a hydrotherapy bench, two lap lanes for swim training, and a deep end for deep water training and learning. A large, uniquely shaped feature wall separates the deep area from the shallow areas, and contains various sensory features for the children to explore, such as a clear tube water fall feature, and various sized and coloured plexiglass view windows, looking from the shallow end to the deep end. Other Sensory Features include light up water geysers, and a large water spray arch.