A day at the sea

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns on cons­truc­ting swim­ming pools

Introduction

Imagine diving into cool, clear water under a blue sky on a warm summer’s day – as Die Fantas­ti­schen Vier (The Fanta­stic Four) describe in their song “Ein Tag am Meer (A day by the sea)”.

“Du spürst die Lebens­en­ergie (You feel the energy of life)
Die durch dich durch­fließt (That flows through you)
Das Leben wie noch nie in Harmonie und genießt (Life like never before in harmony and you enjoy it)
Es gibt nichts zu verbes­sern (There is nothing that can be improved)
Nichts was noch besser wär’ (Nothing that could be even better)
Außer dir im Jetzt und Hier (Except you in the here and now)
Und dem Tag am Meer (And the day at the sea)”

It is precisely this expe­ri­ence of a refres­hing swim outdoors that Ernst Ulrich Till­manns and his colle­agues from 4a Archi­tekten strive for when desig­ning swim­ming pools. 4a Archi­tects have already desi­gned, built or reno­vated nume­rous swim­ming pools in Germany, Austria and Russia – and have won several prizes in the process.

Each swimming pool is different

“Good swim­ming pools combine effi­cient func­tion­a­lity with an invi­ting atmo­sphere,” says Ernst Ulrich Till­manns, mana­ging director of 4a Archi­tects. “Every swim­ming pool is diffe­rent. No matter whether you are buil­ding a modern well­ness club from expen­sive mate­rials or reno­vating a simple swim­ming pool from the 1960s. It is always possible to come up with a good design in which guests feel comfor­table. First and fore­most, the bathing facility’s func­tion­a­lity and the atmo­sphere have to be observed.

Essen­tial design elements are light and colour, with which diffe­rent areas can be accen­tuated.

Avoid slaughterhouses

In order for the buil­ding to fulfil its intended func­tion perfectly, all areas must be connected and well orga­nised. Guests should find their way around with ease, the available space must be used opti­mally.

“It is very important not to waste space and to ensure that the design is as trans­pa­rent as possible. If you start plan­ning early, you can save a lot of money,” says Ernst Ulrich Till­manns. “The atmo­sphere of the buil­ding is just as important. Some older swim­ming pools, like slaugh­ter­houses, have white tiles and ther­e­fore look rather cold. Instead, it’s better crea­ting a warm and invi­ting feeling of well­ness. Ther­e­fore, choo­sing the right mate­rials is crucial.”

Wood and water

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns has his favou­rite among the available mate­rials: wood.

“There is a lot of water at ground level. Tiles and concrete are preferable there. But a metre above that, wood is a very good mate­rial, both for the walls and ceilings. It is a natural mate­rial that does not corrode, lends a great atmo­sphere and is resistant.”

In the form of ceiling tiles, wood also ensures plea­sant acou­stics, which is a very decisive factor for a swim­ming pool to become a success.

Nature at the pool

Ernst Ulrich Till­manns speaks up for an archi­tec­ture that brings nature into the inte­rior of the buil­ding.

“Since we humans prefer swim­ming outdoors, it is important to create the impres­sion that you are being active outdoors. This can be achieved with large glass surfaces that create a visual connec­tion between the inte­rior and exte­rior. Other options are light colours and wood wool to carry the outside atmo­sphere inside. We did this, for example, when reno­vating the Lochenbad, a smaller swim­ming pool from the 1970s. With bright green acou­stic panels and large glass surfaces, it seems as if bathers are immersed in a natural land­scape”.

The importance of acoustics

Wood wool should not only create a natural atmo­sphere. Ernst Ulrich Till­manns empha­sises the importance of acou­stics in the pool area, espe­ci­ally when large glass surfaces are part of the room that is already domi­nated by hard surfaces.

“It is very important to use acou­stic mate­rials for the ceilings. People should be able to have fun and relax. A pool area with poor acou­stics is bad for the brain. I once visited an older swim­ming pool with a large glass dome over the swim­ming pool area. The noise level was almost unbe­arable.”

Variety

He concludes: “If mate­rials enable variety of design in addi­tion to acou­stic proper­ties, this offers us archi­tects great poten­tial.

One example is the recently opened water and leisure park in Kusel. The coloured ceiling elements in parti­cular lend the buil­ding a special charm. With their colour scheme, which is based on a colourful field of flowers, they lend the indoor pool a cheerful atmo­sphere and, last but not least, its own iden­tity.”

We did this.

Contacts

Architect

4a Archi­tekten GmbH
Hall­strasse 25
D — 70376 Stutt­gart

Ceiling

Trold­tekt A/S
Sletvej 2A
DK — 8310 Tranbjerg J

Photograph

All Photos: Vitalbad Kusel

Olaf Wiechers, Archi­tekt
Büro für Archi­tektur  +  Medi­en­dienst­leis­tungen
Klaus-Groth-Str. 1
D — 21629 Neu Wulmstorf

Author

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
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