The Belliard site: Affirming the public character of the pool
The site presents itself as a rectangular parcel with partial visibility from Rue Belliard, most of which is at the end of a courtyard between two adjoining north and south terraces, with the constraint to the south of an existing stone wall of the stadium which is 5m high.
We took advantage of all these constraints to sublimate the poetics of the urban device of the building in the <>. Very present in Paris. The implementation of the project at the bottom of the southern parcel makes it possible to create an outside retreat space in relation to the alignment of Rue Belliard, conceived as a forecourt of stone-paved access with a central symbolic tree – the Magnolia will be the emblem of the future pool.
The position of the pool in the heart of the island is a signal that marks the specific status of the equipment along the street Belliard. Back from the street and protected by a perforated fence, the planted forecourt allows users to detach from the daily space-time, to project to another space-time: the time of leisure, relaxation, learning, time for oneself out of the noise and nuisance of the city.
The prescence of nature on each level
Nature is indeed omnipresent in the pool and totally constitutive of its design. The 3 levels of the pool are organized around their surrounding outdoor space and extend by a planted garden with a specific visual and functional symbiosis with the space: The lobby on the ground floor is organized around a garden planted in open ground. The level of the changing rooms is located between 2 gardens: in the East – the wooded garden facing the Residence Fleurus and also accessible to the Jesse Owens Stadium and the West, the planted terrace above the Hall. Finally the level of the Swimming Pool is extended by a planted garden, raised and arranged for swimmers.
The transparency of the project
From the Rue Belliard, the pool is presented as a building on 3 levels transparent, light and green. The transparency of the
facades allows an in-depth reading of the equipment with visibility on the lobby and on the different levels as well as
the vertical circulation cores that express the operation of the equipment.
The swimming pool hall at + 7m higher to the Rue Belliard level is motivated by the desire to position itself 2m above the height of the basement wall South to ensure natural lighting and the view from the hall pools and to give visibility to the pool from the Jesse Owens Stadium while ensuring privacy for users. The pool is presented as a unit volume extruded on 3 levels (R + 2) glazed pan cut to the north, with a slight and punctual 1.40m disbursement on the ground floor in the area of technical premises accessible by a ramp. The extruded volume of the pool is organised by structural metal porticoes slightly over the facade that create the volumetry of the pool and structure the south and north facades. These porticoes go down to the ground and are connected by a system of East-West breakdowns which carry the vegetated cover ofthe pool hall.