News: construction is underway on an outdoor bathing lake in Riehen, Switzerland, by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Naturbad Riehen will be filled with natural water without chlorine or chemical additives and is designed to accommodate 2000 bathers per day. As well as the pool for bathers, the Naturbad will incorporate a series of biological water treatment basins embedded in a sloping field on the other side of the road.

Herzog & de Meuron originally won a competition to design a municipal pool for Riehen in 1979, but the scheme was shelved in 1982. The Swiss architects were then commissioned to rethink the concept in 2007, when they abandoned the conventional swimming pool concept in favour of a facility using natural filtration.

The pool is expected to be completed in 2014.

Last month Herzog & de Meuron was among 12 international firms shortlisted to design a new headquarters for the Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Sweden, while earlier this year they completed three halls for the Messe Basel exhibition centre – see all architecture by Herzog & de Meuron.

Last year we featured a proposal for a skyscraper in Peru with vertiginous swimming pools sticking out of every apartment and a concept for a pool under an inverted dome at an Istanbul primary school – see all swimming pools.

Above: site plan

Images by Herzog & de Meuron.

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Naturbad Riehen swimming pool appeared first on Dezeen.

As temperatures soared in London earlier this week we all wanted to go for a dip, but none of the local facilities quite matched up to the pools that feature on our latest Pinterest board.

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The 20-storey residential building would be constructed beside a golf course in the east of the city and feature a transparent glass facade and a series of elevated courtyards.

The concrete swimming pools would jut out from each of the courtyards and are pictured in the architect's drawings without any safety rails.

We've previously featured proposals for a much taller skyscraper with a projecting swimming pool - see it here.

See all our stories about skyscrapers »

Here's a project description from DCPP:

Sky Condos Located on a privileged area of the City of Lima and with views towards the golf course, we sought to create an icon for the future, a new luxury housing concept in Latin America; combining the idea of incorporating the exterior space to the interior life of the apartments and creating a new relation between public and private areas.

We wanted to get away from the traditional tower; instead of piling up a series of identical apartments, we created three types that adjust to different necessities; each one with a clear individuality using the privative exterior spaces as our main core.

Ground floor plan

We believe that an apartment shouldn’t lack exterior spaces; this is why our main space in each apartment is the exterior public area which contains the pool and a series of terraces that bring dynamism to the whole tower.

Upper floor plan 1

These terraces fill the apartment with natural light and create a game of lights and shadows.

Upper floor plan 2

The 20 floor tower has a facade that is mainly transparent allowing the integration of the building to the exterior; generating crossed ventilation and natural lighting in all the spaces without sacrificing the privacy inside the apartments.

Upper floor plan 3

The floor plan is open looking for a transparency all along the plot and generating the sensation that the apartments are suspended.

Upper floor plan 4

Upper floor plan 5

Upper floor plan 6

Upper floor plan 7

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The architects proposed to partially embed the swimming pool in a grassy mound, with a reflective roof structure bulging down to meet it.

The grassy roof would blend in with the surrounding landscape while the upper dome's mirrored underside would reflect the greenery.

Three pools were proposed for inside the dome, while a star-shaped outdoor pool would also be placed alongside the main building.

The pool was intended to provide a striking entrance to the campus of Koç Primary School, which is run by the Vehbi Koç Foundatıon.

The swimming pool has been shortlisted for WAF's World Building of the Year Award but it will not now be built due to the school's budget constraints.

Here's some more text from the architects:

Considerably distant from the city centre, the Koç School sprawled across its property without a master plan over time and thus was faced with the consequences of this expansion. Envisaged as the focal point of the campus, the pool building is designed as a pacesetter for the quality of future buildings and thus strives to contribute towards the architectural development of the campus.

Click above for larger image

As the first building to be perceived from the new entrance axis of the campus, the building also neighbors the existing outdoor sports areas. In order not to compete with the surrounding buildings in terms of height, the pool building is partly embedded in the ground and is connected to the landscape on all four sides with a green, sloped roof. While the inverted dome attached to the dome structure offers a green tribune area to the outdoor sports areas, it is simultaneously perceived as an art object that strengthens the landscape with its reflective exterior.

Click above for larger image

The design is distinct from the neighboring buildings particularly due to its strong expression. It has been conceived as the first building/object to be perceived upon entering the campus through the new junction at the school’s highway entrance, thus bringing an added value to the overall appearance of the campus.

Project Title: Vehbi Koç Foundatıon Koç Primary School Campus Indoor Swimming Pool
Client: Vehbi Koç Vakfı
Designers: Ecarch with IND [Inter.National.Design] Hasan Çalışlar, Kerem Erginoğlu, Arman Akdoğan, Felix Madrazo, Alvaro Novas, Hans Larsson, Bas van der Horst, Pablo Roquero, Antonio Goya, Miguel Martins
Status: Competition Project / Unbuilt
Location: Tuzla / İstanbul / Turkey
Project Date: 2011

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& Çalışlar and IND [Inter.National.Design] appeared first on Dezeen.

Located right beside a busy road, the single-storey building folds around the perimeter of the pool to maintain privacy for swimmers.

The building has a concrete frame, which extends beyond the entrance to create an exterior canopy.

Other swimming pools we've featured include one inside a ramshackle timber basin - see more here.

Photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.

Here's some more information from Arquitecturia:

Exterior Swimming Pool and changing room in Tortosa.

The facility is located on the Jesus Road, between the Canal de l’Ebre and the Barranc de la Vall Cervera, and it is accessed from a public space prior to widening of the pavement on this road.

One of the aims of the project is to provide the pools a space removed from the Road and the wind, that overlooks the canal and the future of sports area, as well as to provide a good orientation to optimize its use. As such, the linear structure between the road and the swimming pools sets up as a backdrop that holds the area for outdoor activities.

The boundaries between inside and outside are explored by the structure of concrete and the facade system made of metal profiles. Between these two elements, there ase spaces like porches, patios, shades... areas of ambiguity that dilute and confuse the relationship between inside and outside.

The project is structured around the public space and entrance arcade, with the bar positioned to one side serving as a vantage overlooking the future running track, and the lobby on the other side, drawing the eye to the outdoor pools. The space outside the pools is shaped by a series of shaded areas that connect the three functional units: bar, changing rooms and lobby.

Click above for larger image

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by Arquitecturia appeared first on Dezeen.