l a p [ p o o l ] b u i l d i n g 

 

CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION [FIVE]

 

[URBAN SWIMMING] THE DESIGN OF A PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL FOR PRETORIA CENTRAL

 

[2014] After nearly a century of water flow, the concrete surface has weathered to a smooth layer. The structure speaks of its own history, the erosion of time has discoloured the concrete from a dark rough smooth concrete at the top, to a white shimmering rough textured finish at the bottom, illustrating the power of weathering. Considered, one of man’s strongest construction materials, the concrete has over time been punctured by nature. Slowly, it converts itself back into a natural river.

 

The city of Pretoria has a history of using red brick as a decorative and structural unit. Norman Eaton succeeded in introducing the brick as an aesthetically pleasing element with varying patterns and colour. For the proposed design the transition between inside and outside is one of the prominent focus areas of the design. The floors of the building can be laid with FBS Burgundy bricks to resemble a piece of Pretoria’s history. The change rooms are the main inside-outside transition space. The swimmers could be greeted with the warming red brick colour before and after swimming. The change rooms have a raised floor that allows water to drain away and the floor to dry.