Pool Park is a competition proposal for a combined aquatic center and public park in Sydney. The two spaces overlap, both spatially and functionally, as the aquatic center opens toward the park and the park extends beneath the aquatic center’s roof. In this way, the facility breaks down barriers between architecture and landscape; creating a public space where social life, health and fitness intersect.

Collaborator: Office Feuerman

The aquatic center is an assemblage of pavilions, accessible from the park and connected by glass pathways, which circulate fresh air through the interior. The main pool hall is further divided by “curtains of air,” invisible walls that create zones with different air and water temperatures, while remaining visually and physically connected. Passing from one thermal zone to another, visitors experience an architecture of well-being with each visit.

The park is a socially- and environmentally-resilient public space that is able to adapt to changes in both use and weather. The landscape is structured by indigenous plantings — groves, tall grasses, low grasses and raingardens — which generate flexible and naturally-flood resistant gathering spaces. These spaces are linked by a path of permeable pavers that gradually shifts between different ecosystems — from the grassy fields to the sandy playgrounds to the water. The soft boundaries between ecosystems culminate in a green roof, vegetated with wild plants and sloped to provide panoramic views back to the park.



Project Team: Phu Hoang, Rachely Rotem, William Feuerman, Endriana Audisho, Christina Deluchi, Joanne Kinniburgh, Gonzalo Valiente

---

Credits: Isoenv (Environmental Analysis)