POOL DESIGN AWARDS 2022 - Renovated pool – N°1
Project name : Piscine Tournesol des Abrets-en-Dauphiné
Architect : Z ARCHITECTURE
Builder : BAUDIN CHATEAUNEUF
Country : France
Photo credits : Jonathan Ledoublon
"The Abrets-en-Dauphiné « sunflower swimming pool » is part of the 183 charismatic « 1,000 swimming pools » a nationwide program launched in 1969 designed by architect Bernard Schoeller.
This ingenious heliotropic design, a major technical achievement, and aesthetic oddity in the shape of a "flying saucer", 36 meters diameter and 7 meters high, marked generations of swimmers.
Six of these swimming pools have been classified as belonging to « France's 20th century heritage », but regrettably, most of them have disappeared over the past decades.
For the refurbishment of the Abrets-en-Dauphiné « sunflower swimming pool », Z Architectures aim was to uphold this unique structural design by highlighting the dome's form and it's 36 metal arches - enhanced by a brand-new white zinc exterior siding and completed with an extension whose lines are both pragmatic and refined. In fine weather, this dome opens wide to allow swimmers to enjoy the bucolic landscape of the park in which the swimming pool is located."