Cathedral of sport
Renovation of a swimming pool
Author: Maruša Turnšek
Mentor: Mitja Zorc
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Project year: 2016/2017
FA Ljubljana
Ilirija, a swimming pool built in the 30s by Stanko Bloudek, used to be a vital point of the Ljubljana city life and as a home to one of the oldest swimming clubs in Slovenia also carries a historical and sentimental value. Today with its outdated facilities, the swimming pool no longer provides adequate spaces for young swimming professionals, and due to its roofless structure it can only enable its use in the warmer part of the year.
The renovation of the project focuses on creating required conditions with an enlarged olympic sized swimming pool. To create a better space relationship between the existing structure and the new pool, later is rotated 90* which gives the structure a clear direction and enables a view along the swimming lines right from the entrance.
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New concrete vaults along both sides of the pool sit above the existing structure and carry the load of the newly spanned roof above the pool. From the intact front part and entrance hall, the building is separated on the left part, meant for the club and its facilities and to the right part, meant for the visiting competitors and spectators.
