Auf dem Sonnendeck
“When I’m not here, I’m on the sun deck”. Who doesn’t remember the cheerful summer hit by Peter Licht from 2001? Picking up on its lightness, it is not difficult for us these days to think of tomorrow already and to get in the mood for the upcoming summer pleasures in Zurich’s outdoor pools in the middle of the January cold. The reason for our excited mental leap in time is the result of the plan selection procedure for the renovation of the Dolder open-air swimming pool in Zurich-Hottingen, which was won by the team GFA – Gruppe für Architektur, BGS & Partner Architekten and Lüchinger+Meyer.
The pool in Dolderpark was built in 1934 according to plans by the architect Emil Rein, its strict axiality and arrangement of water elements reminding of Moorish courtyards. In 1960, it was supplemented by an additional storey. The city of Zurich has commissioned the restoration and upgrading of the baths, which are in serious need of renovation, for a new 30-year period of use.
The winning project envisages picking up on the qualities of the originally well-proportioned complex and developing them further. The existing portico is to be replaced by a two-storey columned hall and extended with an attractive sun deck. The design is proposed as a concrete structure, using the existing structural system as support for the extension. The ceiling will be made of in-situ concrete while the round columns on the ground floor, the structure of the pergola and the stairs will be made of prefabricated elements, thus ensuring a short construction time.
At the same time, we are pleased about the next success of the “Badi-Connection”. In a team with GFA – Gruppe für Architektur and BGS & Partner Architekten, we were recently able to renovate the Staudenbühl and Altweg school swimming facilities and are in the middle of planning the generous expansion of the Fohrbach indoor swimming pool.
(Visualisations: studio maleta)
