Much as I would like this to be about a titanic pool table, it is a quick post with a couple of images from our trip to the Zaha Hadid designed aquatics centre for London 2012.
The pool exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low, in that it created a good environment for swimmers and spectators.
Despite the quite clunky nature of the extensions, it looks likely that the visuals for the main events have been compromised for the legacy set up (or is that better for sustainability?!). But I think, on reflection, that is a good thing in an attempt to avoid the white elephant status of the water cube in Beijing for which they are struggling to find uses.
It became clear once inside what the plan was for the legacy mode, and hopefully it will work well as a regular pool. Images to follow.
There were 4 primary materials visible: concrete, glass, stainless steel, and a bit if timber (if you look really hard!). It's a tried & tested combination which seems to work well at the moment. We'll have to wait and see whether it ages well. I have concerns over the steel!
The roof form inside is quite wavy, it will be interesting to see how it affects the sounds the swimmers hear.. You get the sense that it might focus things on them, heightening awareness of the crowd.
The diving boards reminded me of water spouts, which is appropriate I suppose, and I think they will be a focus for images during the games.
As I so often am with new Architecture, I was left with the question "how on earth are they going to dust that?!"
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