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Public buildings

San Francisco Pool

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The roof, where the pool meets the sky and earth

Once an industrial zone, parts of the Potrero district in San Francisco are becoming residential. Surrounded by an ocean of generic and anonymous warehouses, the pool should have a distinct identity and act as a key anchor for the community. The design intent uses the roof and its underlying structure as a distinct character. Using clay, we explored different roof forms, to deliberately avoid the large rectangular boxes of the neighborhood. The design finally connects the sky and the earth in a single enclosure.

Layering principle

Working mostly in tension, the bottom part of the 3D truss is heavier than the following structural layer. Two outer layers serve for insulating, waterproofing and cladding the roof.  

Rippling energy

The grid structure forms a wave. Natural lighting from above fills the space, with the shadows of the structure changing the atmosphere throughout the day. 

Phenomenological enclosure

A building enclosure can extend outside its functional footprint, and does not need to function as an enclosure, it can just be a phenomenological artefact, distinct from the building but recalling its conceptual idea. Changing the people's behavior, bringing them into the building, in the same fashion a swimmer is drawn into the water.

A pool park

The lot backyard is large enough to be developed as a public park, connecting three dead end alleys via the park. A community building and a coffee shop complements the new development.

 

Program

Pool

16,000 sq. ft. building, one storey building, 55' high. Two 82 feet pools, 4 lanes each. Lobby with sales office, 2 Locker rooms, 1 hamam, 1 sauna room. 

Environmental features

R-45 zinc roof system with 6000 sq. ft. of solar panels for hot water. Daylighting throughout.  

Park

1600 sq.ft. one story coffee shop with indoor and outdoor seating, 6500 sq.ft. one story community building. 26,000 sq ft of public park.