Swimming Pool in Brittany
- Barbara Zettel
In the small town of Saint-Méen-le-Grand in Brittany, a swimming pool had opened in the 1990s. Despite its public purpose, the building complex with its yellow rendered facades and multiple slate-covered, pitched roofs hardly differed from the residential houses of the town. And while it had been renovated and expanded multiple times in the last 30 years, the facility no longer met current standards. The building services were outdated and the render began to crumble off the walls. Atelier Raum demonstrated sensitivity in renovating the swimming pool, transforming it into a water park with three different basins and water features. The planners preserved the majority of the old structure and perpetuated the small-scale character of the ensemble. This demonstrates an approach that is both resources-saving and respectful in terms of the scale of the complex in relation to the neighbouring 12th century abbey church and the settlement patterns of the village.
