The new swimming pool in Saint-Méen-Le-Gran conserves resources by renovating and extending the existing building. Studio Raum complemented the existing volumes to create a new ensemble that offers views of the landscape and a view of the countryside from the pool.
raum
Charles Bouchaïb
The new swimming pool in Saint-Méen-Le-Gran conserves resources by renovating and extending the existing building. Studio Raum complemented the existing volumes to create a new ensemble that offers views of the landscape and a view of the countryside from the pool.
The existing state of the building and the need to economise on resources in contemporary architecture imposed an attitude aimed at preserving as much of the superstructure as possible. This rational approach to construction has led to the emergence of 3 main principles:
- A contemporary architecture that integrates the volumetric diversity of the existing building
- A structural and thermal insulation solution that allows us to restore the coherence of the public facilities, while at the same time controlling the performance (waterproofing and insulation) of the new shell
- Enhancement of the slight topography of the site by connecting the interior spaces to the great landscape and its horizon
The new pool is integrated into the continuity of the existing one by offering the abstraction of a large volume of slate, leaving the pool surrounds very open to the landscape.
The entire project is clad in black wood and new openings are created in the existing structure to reopen the pool to the city.
The complete renovation and extension of the swimming pool necessitated the implementation of a proliferating architecture, which made it possible to associate the construction of complementary spaces in coherence with the initial heterogeneity. The existing structure is considered objectively and, in its capacity, to offer capable volumes already built, while seeking to offer, through its transformation, the coherence of a certain abstraction that affirms the unitary status of the new public facilities on the scale of the surrounding community.
Following the example of this work, which accepts and enhances the diversity of the existing volumes, the renovated interiors are unified by the coherence of a simple colour scheme.
