Situation

In order to enable bathing to continue econo­mic­ally, the exis­ting bathing land­scape of the Kusel swim­ming pool – Vitalbad Kusel – needed to a very large extent to be decon­s­tructed and rebuilt.

The aim of the design was to develop the func­tional new cons­truc­tion as an attrac­tive land­scaped bathing area with a high quality of space in which to spend time and a distinct character and to make maximum use of synergy effects.

Original

The original single-storey buil­ding was orga­nised for classic bathing from east to west. compri­sing a foyer with cate­ring faci­li­ties, chan­ging areas and a bathing hall with pools for non-swim­mers and for swim­mers, diving towers, a slide faci­lity and an outdoor pool acces­sible from indoors. The outdoor pool area with outbuil­dings and sunbathing lawns used to be adja­cent to the south.

In order to enable economic bathing in future, Kusel swim­ming pool had to be almost comple­tely stripped down to the bathing plat­form. Only the base­ment and the slide tower were retained.

All the parts of the exis­ting buil­ding were stripped back to their shell and provided with new surfaces on the floor, wall and ceiling.

Structure

Due to greater roof loads, the exis­ting spatial frame­work was replaced with a frame cons­truc­tion consis­ting of welded double‑T steel girders. The white steel girders are posi­tioned in a trans­verse direc­tion to the buil­ding and span across the entire width of the buil­ding.

A wooden subs­truc­ture with suspended light­weight wood-wool boards ensures excel­lent acou­stics within the buil­ding and lends a summer-fresh ambi­ence to the inte­rior space. In order to reduce the volume of the buil­ding, the height of the buil­ding was adapted to the use of each area as part of the rede­ve­lo­p­ment.

Functionality

The entrance to the indoor and outdoor pools remains on the south side of the buil­ding. Along the glazed entrance façade, a roof over­hang provides a protected outdoor area towards the outdoor pool.

Via the trans­par­ently desi­gned foyer with a cate­ring area, bathers gain their first views into the bathing area and reach the bathing hall via the chan­ging areas and sani­tary faci­li­ties. Struc­tu­rally, the ancil­lary rooms form three cubes with rounded edges between which there are passa­ge­ways with visual axes towards the bathing hall.

Outdoor area

The water surfaces in the outdoor pool area were reduced in order to make the running of the baths more econo­mical. There is no need for a non-swim­mers’ pool and, with four lanes, the new stain­less-steel swim­mers’ pool is smaller than in the original cons­truc­tion.

The recrea­tional pool remains in the original struc­ture after the rede­ve­lo­p­ment of the pool border and surroun­dings.

Budget

The tight budget for the rede­ve­lo­p­ment of Kusel swim­ming pool is reflected in certain para­me­ters, for example the volume of the buil­ding, the water surfaces and also, in part, the design of the surfaces.

lrre­spec­tive of this, it was possible to form the indoor and outdoor pools as a unit in terms of design and func­tion­a­lity and to give the new Vitalbad a brightly coloured radi­ance and an iden­tity of its own.