Venture Therapeutic Pool

Long ago, Venture realized the benefits of water therapy for people with developmental disabilities. Using a temporary pool, individuals bound to their wheel chairs, too weak to move limbs, experienced what Kathleen Lukens, the Executive Director and Founder of Camp Venture eloquently calls the “incredible lightness of being.” The buoyancy of water gives partial mobility to some and enabled others to almost walk. It was this experience that inspired Camp Venture to embark on a mission to provide this environment year-round.

The Venture Pool Complex is a 7500 square foot addition to Venture’s Day Treatment Center. The facility provides two pools, locker and shower areas, individual changing rooms and program space; Two pools and the building plan will permit flexibility in temperature and program.

The limited budget did not limit the ability of Michael Shilale to design a functional plan, maintain a high level of quality construction and create an addition that harmonizes with the existing building.

The new Therapeutic Pool Building has a stained-glass representation of the Venture logo in a circular window, adorning the natatorium. A butterfly at first flight; a symbol of the metamorphosis being made every day by the individuals Camp Venture serves.