We’ve gotten used to lofty infinity pools and some pretty astonishing cantilevered baths, but aqueous ideas are being taken to a whole new level in London courtesy of Arup Associates. In collaboration with HAL Architects, the global design and engineering firm has taken on one of its most challenging structural challenges yet: the Sky Pool, an all-glass swimming pool that developers Ballymore Group say will be the first of its kind to span two residential buildings.
A product of Ballymore Group CEO Sean Mulryan’s wild imagination, the 90-foot-long pool is designed to resemble an aquarium and will be constructed using 8-inch-thick acrylic panels. “My vision for the sky pool stemmed from a desire to push the boundaries in the capability of construction and engineering,” said Mulryan. “I wanted to do something that had never been done before.”
During the development phase, Arup drafted in specialist help from structural design engineers Eckersley O-Callaghan and aquarium designers Reynolds. The resulting pool will have pedestrians gazing up as much as swimmers look down, a rare example of a private residential development also providing an architectural landmark and tourist attraction for the wider public.
The Sky Pool will form a theatrical centerpiece for Ballymore Group’s Embassy Gardens development in Nine Elms, part of a huge regeneration of the area around Battersea. The list of contributors to the district reads as a who’s who of the architectural profession: the masterplan was developed by Rafael Viñoly, while Foster + Partners and Frank Gehry have designed multiple apartment buildings in the area. Furthermore, Bjarke Ingels Group has dreamt up an “electric boulevard” public square in front of Battersea’s iconic power station.
The Embassy Garden Legacy Buildings will begin construction in 2015, with a planned completion date of 2017.