Natural swimming pool at King’s Cross London

Construction has started on the UK’s first public natural swimming pond, as part of an art project within London’s King’s Cross Development.  The natural, chemical-free pool has been designed and is being built by natural pool designer Biotop and its UK partner, Kingcombe Aquacare. B|D Landscape Architects is the landscape architect for the project.
Working in conjunction with the King’s Cross Development Partnership and contractor Carillion, the Kingcombe Aquacare team has begun the first stages of ground works for the complex construction of the 411 m2 pool. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, when the pond will then be given time to develop naturally, before its scheduled opening to the public as an arts and events space in Spring 2015.
The King’s Cross natural swimming pond  has been specifically designed to be able to accommodate larger numbers of daily swimmers. Like all natural swimming pools the King’s Cross pond is likely to attract not just people, but also large varieties of insects and wildlife which will create habitats within the planted edges around the pond.
The original concept for the swimming pond within the development was created by Ooze Architects (Eva Pfannes & Sylvain Hartenberg) and Marjetica Potrč. The pond will be a main attraction within the Lewis Cubitt Park area of the development.
As befits the sustainability aims of the project, Biotop will be using a number of recycled materials throughout the pond build.