Making a splash

Here at Design Week, we’re keen on swimming pools. Aside from the pub, it is where you are most likely to find the team out of hours, apart from if it’s a sunny day and we’re at the lido of course.

So we were pleased to see the opening of London’s Kentish Town Baths on Monday after its impressive renovation by Roberts Limbrick Architects. Lofty and grand, the Grade II-listed 33mm pool features a glazed gothic roof, which has now been revealed for the first time since the 1960s.

Kentish Town Baths

The poolside view is so spectacular that it inspired one councillor to utter, ‘It will be like swimming in St Pancras station,’ – a claim which has been verified by one keen member of the DW team.

If the Kentish Town Baths has sparked your desire to swim in classic design, here are a number of other pools that will make for an aesthetically pleasing paddle. The Kerry Hill Architects-designed Alila Ubud hotel in Bali boasts poolside views of the lush Ayung River, giving you the impression you’re swimming in the jungle waters.

Alila Ubud hotel in Bali by Kerry Hill Architects
Alila Ubud hotel in Bali by Kerry Hill Architects

The Habita Monterrey in San Pedro Garza, designed by Landa Arquitectos and Joseph Dirand Architecture, uses transparent panels to allow swimmer 360 degree views of the surrounding city.

The Habita Monterrey in San Pedro Garza, designed by Landa Arquitectos and Joseph Dirand Architecture
The Habita Monterrey in San Pedro Garza, designed by Landa Arquitectos and Joseph Dirand Architecture.

Voted one of the top 10 hotel pools in the world by Trip Advisor this year, The Library in Koh Samui has been made using Italian glass mosaic tiles and is just moments away from the beach. Slightly more glamorous than Kentish Town Road.

The Library in Koh Samui
The Library in Koh Samui
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  • Kay Dobson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    These are spectacular pools, amazing designs, just wish the English Councils could design swimming pools like this! Would make the several hours a week ‘swim work out’ a hell of a lot more interesting!

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