Academic work (unbuilt).
Aqua balneum is an aquatic centre in the CBD of Sydney next to Hyde Park. We thought of this project as a water museum where each space will express the three states of water; liquid, solid and vapour.
There is an Olympic swimming pool, a sauna and massage area, a gym, a public plaza and artificial beach. The project is mainly underground and due to the site’s topography it seems very low profile.
From the street you only see 2 large bodies of water with a glass pavilion with vapour ‘cloud like’ hovering and floating on top of the building, to access the facilities one must descend through a ramp.
Arriving into a big empty plaza, to access the sauna and massage areas one most swim to them.
The experience is completely sensorial and monumental.
August 5, 2019
