Pure design, pure fun. However much we want to get closer and hug each other, the pools that bring together two skyscrapers are very popular, even if they cause dizziness.
After the news on the “+” shaped purifier pool located in New York, even London now boasts its own unique swimming pool. It will be called Sky Pool.
A thrilling pool
Sky Pool goes far beyond the expectations of those "hungry" for adrenaline, because it invites visitors to swim between two skyscrapers in a transparent acrylic box.
The Sky Pool was designed by HAL Architects and involved several engineers and acrylic manufacturer Reynolds Polymer Technologies.
The project it is part of London's Embassy Gardens, a mixed-use residential development next to the US Embassy building.
Sky Pool, fly swimming
The pool itself is suspended at a height of 35 meters (114 feet), between two apartment buildings. It extends for 15 meters (50 feet) in length (to which must be added another 25 meters of tanks positioned on the two buildings).
148.000 liters of water.
Structurally, it consists of a single piece of acrylic with a total thickness of approximately 14 inches (35 cm) placed on a steel frame.
Sky Pool couldn't do without a Sky Deck. Actually two, one on each side of the pool. For each deck, double terrace with bar and restaurant, and various lounge areas.
Great engineering challenge
Be you attentive readers (what a fiddle), and it will not have escaped your notice that it was a significant engineering challenge to ensure that the Sky Pool supported the weight of the water and the amount of pressure created, while still resisting wind loads and the oscillation of the building.
“The side walls form deep beams capable of spanning this distance carrying the weight of the water, as well as resisting water pressure on the sides and wind loads,” he explains Eckersley O'Callaghan, one of the engineers involved in the project.
“The two buildings are subject to normal movements for this scale, including wind oscillations and foundation settlement. The structure of the pool compensates for these movements by not being rigidly connected at the two ends; it can slide and maintain a watertight seal."
Even just bringing Sky Pool to London was hard work.
After manufacturing and testing in Colorado, the pool structure first took a trip to Texas, then ended up on a three-week ship across the Atlantic Ocean to the Netherlands. From there to the port of Tilbury in London, then up the Thames, finally transferring by lorry.
For this last part of Sky Pool's journey it was necessary to remove traffic lights and road signs and completely close the road. It was then finally moved into position using an 840 tonne mobile crane, supported by a second smaller crane.
The opening? May 19th. Have a good swim, and if you are afraid avoid diving: certain things come to the surface in the water.