Portfolio Final

[Under]water

new experience by design

Leo Spurgin

00 project brief Beginning with a list of aquatic events, some Olympic events and others wild ideas for new sports, the studio was instructed to chose one of these aquatic events and design an “event specific pool” for said event. The pool was to be highly specialized and unique, with its design generated out of the very specific needs of the chosen event. The pools will be part of a new National Aquatic Training Facility at Texas Tech University which will overtake the existing TTU Aquatic Center.

01 concept

transparent inspiration My initial thoughts were to search for existing swimming pools that were out of the ordinary. One such pool is the main attraction and namesake of the Glass Pool Inn in Las Vegas. The circular windows allow any passerby to see into the pool below the water line creating interesting visuals.

floating water Following this idea of seeing into pools from the walls of the pool, I came across the pool on the roof of the Aris Hotel in Singapore. The pool cantilevers over the edge of the building and the wall and floor that are cantilevered are glass creating a unique visual for spectators below and swimmers alike.

hanging hose Embracing the idea of a pool that spectators could see into from the sides and the bottom, I sketched a long tube like pool that would be made out of some sort of clear material. This long linear shape would fit events such as individual lap swimming or could be extended to be used as a marathon pool.

gold-man-bowl fishbowl Another idea was for a bowl shaped pool so that spectators could view the event from any angle. A sport that would be perfect for this concept is synchronized swimming. Conceptually it was an attempt to create as open as a space as possible underneath the pool for spectators to view the event. I decided to develop this concept further.

conceptual collage In an attempt to begin to understand the space that this pool would create and how the spectators would interact with this space I created concept collages. These collages showed the space above the pool but focused more on the space below the water line of the pool. The driving concept for every design decision revolved around the spectators viewing the performance from all angles, above and below the level of the water.

02 pool research

pool transparency Researching the feasibility of a large transparent cylindrical form. These seams have 90% of the pool brought to my attention to the Aquadom in strength a single panel would have which is not a Berlin, Germany in the SAS Radisson hotel. This big enough loss in strength to become a hazard. 52’ high, 36’ diameter aquarium was constructed inside of a hotel with cast acrylic panels fabricated by Reynolds Polymer Technologies. Multiple panels were chemically bonded together to form the large

initial idea To form the bowl shaped pool that the design calls for, the same technique used to construct the Aquadom will be used. The pool would be prefabricated in panels off site and the panels would be chemically bonded together on site. The initial thoughts on the thickness of the acrylic was that it would need to be 6” thick.

thirsty? Part of researching the feasibility of this glass pool was calculating how much water would be in the pool and how heavy this volume of water would be. I also looked into filtration systems at this point and decided on the filter size that would be required.

beach-in-a-can I decided on a sand filtration system because of the lower maintenance cost and lack of odor. In addition to this sand filter system a sanitation system using oxidation and ionization instead of chemicals will be used to clean the water of smaller particles that the sand filter does not get rid of.

03 design

circular observation My initial design had a circular pool with a bridge over the top of the pool for spectators to watch the performance from above. A glass platform covers the spectator area below the pool and two ramps lead down to this area.

light bulb Although the symmetry of synchronized swimming fits in with a circular design, I moved away from a perfect circle as the symmetry was overwhelming and boring. Also the circular pool brought up the issue of how and where the swimmers would enter and exit the pool. A design with an extension of the pool on one side would solve this problem.

hanging pool By examining the pool in section, I began to get an idea of how much space below the water line would be necessary. It was at this point that the heights of the below grade platforms were decided. The first level is 8 feet below grade while the other two levels are 14 and 20 feet below grade.

markup heaven From this iteration the design progressed greatly. The roof would become more articulated once structural research was started. The locker room area changed considerable from this point however the viewing area below remained basically the same through to the final design,

1

waves of change In this second iteration of the design the roof began to take shape. A glass curtain wall that would remain part of the design now wrapped around the public space opening it up greatly. After this iteration the locker rooms changed immensely and a reflecting pool was brought into the design at the base of this curtain wall.

Sectional model showing how the spaces interact at this point. Demonstrates how the spectators can view the pool in close proximity from below or from the sides.

04 structural development

homebase Knowing how heavy the water in the pool was going to be I began researching methods to suspend heavy objects. I came across the Homebase headquarters in the UK designed by Nicholas Grimshaw. The structure of this building relies on a large 80 ton central spine suspended by a large mast and cable system.

floating saucer Borrowing this idea of hanging the heavy spine from a mast I devised a system of 5 masts to hang the pool from. These masts would also hold a system of trusses that would in turn hold up an aluminum panel roof system.

4

20’ 115’

50’

5

mast murder The initial idea to hang the pool from masts resulted in masts that were too short and did not fit the program of the design. I began developing masts based on the swimmers sticking their legs up out of the water. The leg is an elegant body part so these masts would be aesthetically pleasing with their soft curves and gentle bulges.

12’

6

structural suspension In order to understand how the structure works, I constructed a model of one of the masts and a section of the central spine. The cables carry the load of the trusses and the load of the pool across the top of the masts and down to the concrete anchors in the ground.

35’

20’ 115’

9’-8” 50’

12’

early structural diagram

Pool Connection Detail

Steel cable connection through acrylic

35’

20’

20’

115’

115’

9’-8” 50’

50’

12’

revised

12’

revised

engineer ingenuity During the structural development stage I had the opportunity to converse with two engineers about the structural integrity of my design. The first change that was required for the pool to be stable was the thickness of the acrylic. I was informed that 6” of acrylic would not be thick enough but 10” would be structurally sound. This change

was incorporated into my design. The acrylic was thickened to 10” at the bottom of the pool. The curve of the pool led up to a band in the acrylic that is 13” thick to reinforce the connection. After this connection the curve continues upward but thins to 6” because the top of the curve is having to resist less weight.

Before I spoke with the engineers , I had envisioned an anchoring system to keep the pool from pulling itself out of the ground. The engineers informed me that the system I had devised would be ineffective for the purpose it was to be used for. Instead they suggested concrete anchors with steel ties .

revised structural diagram

05 final drawings

roof plan

floor plan

longitudinal section

cross section

circulation diagram

detail section

The towering masts cause the public space of the building to seem to stick out of the ground while the more private space blends into the ground with an earth burm.

Spectators are taken on a panoramic journey on the way to the bottom level. This journey gives them a view from multiple angles and multiple sides of the pool.

final thoughts With the semester coming to a close and time running out on this project, I realize it will be sorely missed. I have taken a great deal from this studio as well as my design. It has instilled in me a drive to see things in a new light. Future designs will be full of new ideas mostly related to new ways to view light, space, and how spaces relate. Just like any other profession thinking outside the norm is key to the success of design. Never have I seen a pool that one can walk underneath and see up through the bottom. Weather or not this project was a success, it has forever changed my outlook on design