The Manly Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Aquatic Centre has won recognition by taking out top honours in the 'Sporting Facilities' category at the 2016 Master Builders Association (MBA) Excellence in Construction Awards.

The awards are the commercial building industry's most prestigious, attracting entries from the largest commercial, industrial and civil contractors in New South Wales.

The aquatic centre was built for Northern Beaches Council by Australian company FDC Construction and Fitout in conjunction with Tompkins MDA Architects.

Council General Manager Mark Ferguson said the award acknowledged the centre's innovative design and state‐of‐the‐art building techniques.

"The Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Aquatic Centre has raised the benchmark for what can be achieved with creative vision, careful planning and expert problem-solving abilities.

"The ageing swim centre has been transformed into a contemporary, all-purpose aquatic facility that meets the needs of the whole Northern Beaches community, now and long into the future.

"Importantly, too, it means that the new Manly Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Manly Aquatic Centre can remain open to the public all year round.

"Key to the project architect's vision was retaining key aspects of the old swim centre most important to the community whilst improving the overall amenity of the facility in an environmentally friendly way," Mr Ferguson said.

The project covers 5,500sqm which includes a 3,500sqm pool hall with a spa, leisure pool, program pool and 25m pool.

In addition, a 2,000sqm multi‐storey building which features office space, gym facilities, amenities and crèche was built.

For more information visit www.manlyaquatic.com.au