Alive and kicking

An outdoor pool with history – and a future: in the Biberach outdoor pool, the clear design language of the 1960s meets a consis­t­ently sustainable concept. Wooden archi­tec­ture, short distances and an almost self-suffi­cient energy supply make the new combined pool a show­case project for modern pool cons­truc­tion.

The outdoor pool has been an inte­gral part of urban life in Biberach an der Riß for more than 70 years. The new repla­ce­ment buil­ding, which opened in summer 2025, picks up on the charac­te­ristic elements of the faci­lity from the 1960s and trans­lates them into modern, resource-conser­ving archi­tec­ture. At the same time, the outdoor pool was moved closer to the exis­ting indoor pool in terms of space and func­tion – with the aim (and result) of crea­ting an effi­cient combined pool that can be used all year round.

The design is charac­te­rized by a clear, linear struc­ture: a colon­nade acts as a central access axis to which all func­tions are connected. This order ensures short distances, intui­tive orien­ta­tion and effi­cient use of space. Even the newly desi­gned entrance area makes a strong state­ment: A green fore­court with seating, bicycle parking and careful plan­ting improves the micro­cli­mate and signi­fi­cantly enhances the quality of stay.

The design was created by asp Archi­tekten.

Pavi­lion

The archi­tec­tural center­piece of the faci­lity is an elon­gated wooden pavi­lion that combines all central func­tions under one roof. The buil­ding makes consis­tent use of regional mate­rials: larch charac­te­rizes the façades and parti­tion walls, while Douglas fir was used for the load-bearing struc­ture.

The ensemble is comple­mented by acti­vity and recrea­tion zones along the main axis. Shaded seating areas with a view of the pools and the spacious sunbathing lawns offer space for gastro­nomy, rela­xa­tion and exer­cise – embedded in a mature tree popu­la­tion that harmo­niously inte­grates the faci­lity into the land­scape.

Basin

The Biberach outdoor pool also combines tradi­tion and moder­nity in the bathing area: the new, compact, rectan­gular pool layout refers to the histo­rical design. The 887 m² leisure pool and the 363 m² swim­mers’ pool with five 25-meter lanes offer ideal condi­tions for diffe­rent user groups.

A striking eye-catcher is the 70-metre-long, bright orange racer slide with three lanes and digital timing, comple­mented by other attrac­tions such as a wave slide and a water whirl­pool. There is also a sepa­rate toddler area for fami­lies.

A parti­cular focus was placed on sustaina­bi­lity and resource conser­va­tion. The almost self-suffi­cient energy supply of the Biberach outdoor pool is based on a ground-mounted photo­vol­taic system with an output of around 160 kWp, which covers a large part of the elec­tri­city requi­re­ments in summer and supports the indoor pool in winter.

Solar absor­bers on the roof surfaces heat the pool water, while treated well water supple­ments the opera­tion. An effec­tive climate adapt­a­tion measure was also imple­mented with the inte­gra­tion of a reten­tion basin.

The offer is rounded off by a wide range of leisure and service faci­li­ties: spacious sunbathing lawns, play and sports areas, cate­ring faci­li­ties and a heated recrea­tion area in the wooden buil­ding signi­fi­cantly increase comfort.

The Biberach outdoor pool shows how a sustainable sports and leisure archi­tec­ture can be created from a place with history – clearly struc­tured, sustain­ably desi­gned and consis­t­ently geared towards the needs of users. A thoughtfully desi­gned place for exer­cise, encoun­ters and recrea­tion.