FLOW Aquatics Center, Cape Town

In Cape Town, there is a shortage of public pools and venues for international competitions and professionals who train in winter. My thesis responds to this need. Furthermore I aim at creating a venue that brings the users close to the natural environment. The architecture becomes a vehicle for the person to experience nature. For this reason, the Breakwater is an ideal site as it sits at the northern-most tip of Cape Town. It is where the city meets the sea: The springboard to the Atlantic.

The theme for this project is “Flow”. I have used this notion of continual movement throughout the project. It can be seen in the architectural elements as well as layout of spaces and circulation.

My intention is for the building character to respond to the dynamic and unsettling nature of the site and its surroundings. The north edge of the site is scattered with immense concrete dolloses which are regularly battered by waves. The Breakwater stretches out further than most people dare to venture. Winds howl over the harbour, making everything sway and rattle. This is the starting point from where I draw inspiration. The building expresses these events through the concrete masses that lean as if being blown over by the wind. The crystalic forms are reminiscent of the powerful elements needed to protect that which is within: the water and human experience. 
The architecture does not imitate “water”, but contains it! Water is an honest medium allowing for the public ritual of its use. The ground plane is where the fluidity is found.

The design strategy was to occupy the site in such a way as to create protected and north facing outdoor space as well as a free sense of movement along the existing breakwater and around the edges of the site. My solution is a long and slender building starting at the entry point to the site, stretching towards the ocean at the other end. This long façade faces north towards the park and acts as a wind break from the South-Easter. The building is comprised of two main parts: a translucent, light structure covering the pools in the center, and a concrete shell that abstractly winds itself around the central space acting as a protective cowl.

 The result is a center for water-related activity placed on the water’s edge of the city, where people of all ages, races and skill levels can unite in sport and leisure at any time of the year. It is a promotion of healthy social lifestyle as an alternative to consumerism. It is about securing the right to public open space and creating architecture that everyone can experience.