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The first suspended (and transparent) swimming pool between two buildings opens in London. Thanks to the transparent bottom, lucky swimmers will have the sensation of floating in the air and will enjoy a splendid panoramic view of the city.
It all started in 2013 when it was decided to build a swimming pool among the luxury buildings in the Nine Elms residential district. There wasn’t enough space for an in-ground pool, and while looking for a solution, the engineers’ thoughtful gaze turned…
to the sky. The only space big enough to accommodate a swimming pool for the apartment complex was the one between the buildings.
“So we started looking for images of aqueducts. If those structures could cross valleys, we thought we could build a structure that would connect two buildings,” said senior development manager Tristan Stout.”
“If those structures could cross valleys, we thought we could build a structure that would connect two buildings,” said senior development manager Tristan Stout.
The first idea was to build “only” a futuristic (and courageous) connecting pool between the two buildings. Only later, in the need to find ways to let sunlight into the structure, was the current solution decided upon.
The sky pool – this is its name and it couldn’t be otherwise – will allow those lucky enough to be able to swim between one building and the next not only to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the city but also to experience the sensation of floating in the sky.
It is precisely this transparency that makes the Sky Pool unique. There are already other examples of pools connecting two buildings in the world, such as Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. “But there has never been anything as transparent spanning two buildings as this. Once you swim away, you can look down. It will be like flying,” said Structural Engineer Brian Eckersley.
A dream experience, even if it is limited to the lucky (and wealthy) residents of the two luxury condominiums who will be able to use the pool from 19 May. For everyone else, the maximum you can do is “peek” from the street at people swimming in the pool suspended 35 metres above the ground. And some are betting that in the future it will become one of the alternative destinations for tourists in London looking for something special to photograph.
The Sky Pool combines the excellence of structural engineering with art and design. The work was overseen by Arup Associates – also builders of the Sydney Opera House – marine designers Eckersley O’Callaghan and aquarium designer Reynolds.
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