infinite pool , an aqua gym←go back to all projects

about this project

In the beginning, this project was a small pool in the courtyard of a villa, and the client wanted to turn it into a public pool. Due to the small size of the project site (the yard of the villa building and the existing pool), it was not possible to design a pool with suitable dimensions acceptable for swimming.

Due to the lack of a club dedicated to hydrotherapy (for sports such as walking, youga in water etc) in Rasht city, In the feasibility stage, we decided not to use this pool as a regular one for swimming, but establish an aquagym dedicated to water sports (such as treadmills and bicycles in the water).

Since almost all swimming pools are designed to be used by younger people, our pool should have a different design than the routine ones. a place that majority of its users are older people (suffering from joint diseases, etc.) . we needed to have a design that induces relaxation in the audience instead of excitement.

sun light

One of the most important challenges of this project was providing enough sunlight. Since the project was carried out in the framework of the villa and its yard, due to the restrictions of the urban rules, regular structure slabs such as concrete and steel structures should NOT be used. Also, the new structure should not be higher than the walls of the existing building.

Iran's moral security police has banned the existence of any windows in indoor swimming pools (due to the ban on seeing naked women in Iran witout hijab). So that if we used regular masonry structures, it was only possible to put a very small window at a high height.

In this project, it was impossible to use a window (the three-meter height of the surrounding walls was not high enough). As a result, finding a way to use sunlight became the main priority of this project. After many investigations, we found the only solution in the use of a semi-transparent shell (fabric structure ) to be used as the roof of this project.

design process

According to the decision taken in the previous stage, and the presence of curved forms in the project (fabric structure), the architectural form of all parts of the project was designed based on curves and forms that are in complete harmony with structure of the roof .

Since the employer's budget was limited, the fabric structure of the pool, the simplest possible form, was chosen. Although this structure had a reasonable price, it created additatinal challenge for the architecture of this project: a column in the center of the project.

Since the removal of this column would multiply the price of the structure of this complex, therefore, the architectural design of this project was based on the column.

That column split the project into two halves. We arranged the spaces in such a way that the pool is placed in the upper half and the other spaces in the lower half: including places for non-water sports (stretching and yoga) , physiotherapy and massage, high-pressure shower and jacuzzi.

A place selling food and drinks (along with a bench for sitting) was placed next to these spaces ( pool )and in close connection with it. This decision was taken since it was not possible to place food and drink center in other places. because it would lead to loss of space for other uses.

Due to low budget, small area and no need for decorative elements, we designed each functional element in such a way that they themself form aesthetic aspects of the project

All elements are designed based on this vision. Elements such as the Food and beverage center, Benches, Chlorine foot bath, Showers, the wall separating the food area from the pool ntrance, installation space for air and light channels in the surrounding area of the project...

infinite reflection

Due to the small size and low height of the project and the impossibility of installing a window, plain walls were the only elements that could be seen in the interior. A wall around the pool that does not convey a good feeling, the feeling of a cramped and suffocating space. Especially for the users of this project, who were mostly elderly and sometimes sick, this feeling was not good at all.

To deal with this feeling (being in a closed and tight space), large mirrors were placed around the pool. Mirrors that face each other and reflect the infinity

In addition to the mirrors, to prevent the feeling of monotony, a big TV screen was placed in front of the pool to show users images of nature and plants.