Coudekerque-Branche Aquatic Centre

Project overview: 

What if the aquatic centre of the city of Coudekerque-Branche became…

…an element of urban landscape harmoniously inscribed in its context?

…a verdant Eden that punctuates the dynamism of the city? …a friendly meeting place and an unexpected escape?

It was from these questions that we engaged all our conviction to design a unique, coherent and exemplary project to meet your demand. The functionality of the facility is essential, since — as the architect Rafael Moneo points out — "the user who will use the architectural work cannot be ignored, especially knowing that the work into which the architect has put all his heart will remain in his hands."

In this respect, we propose a remarkable project resting on cornerstones such as:

• an architectural language with a singular identity, responding to both the existing context (brick materiality, lush vegetation) and what is to come (intergenerational housing),

• a facility combining sport, leisure, entertainment and relaxation, with enhanced comfort for users,

• pragmatic constructive and environmental responses in line with the budget envelope,

• a sustainable and well-managed evolution over time, thanks to efficient maintenance.

The new Coudekerque-Branche swimming pool was conceived through a fertile approach whose starting point is nothing other than the "already there": how to enhance the qualitative characteristics inherent in the urban context, in a rational and efficient dimension?

Our response is shaped by the inspiration of the existing site:

Materiality: the project wears a protective cape of bricks, creating an enclosure that frames the project. It plays on its ambiguity between outside and inside through porosities, opening up an indoor-outdoor continuity. This material choice testifies to the fact that our project does not deny the existing, nor does it mimic it — it dialogues with it in a resolutely contemporary vocabulary.

Lush vegetation: we imagined that the majestic trees on the site would inhabit the building, like a rhizome spreading across its territory. Thus, emergences "grow" here and there in the volumes of the project. They seek, within an intelligent constructive strategy, to capture as much natural light as possible. This idea of vegetation inhabiting the building is also reflected in the large planted blanket forming the entire roof of the pool hall, providing strong thermal inertia and an enhanced sense of intimacy for users of the wellness area.

Two universes responding to the nature-built duo: the project, oriented bioclimatically, opens completely to the south towards the "garden", while becoming quieter on the street side. It thereby protects users from urban nuisances. The project becomes the focal point of the city-nature encounter, taming the surrounding context.

The indoor-outdoor continuity of the vegetation extends into the interior spaces. These are punctuated by the timber structure, which graphically dresses the façade and supports the roofs of the luminous emergences rising above each pool. This brings a warm character for the swimmers, in addition to the use of a biosourced material whose virtues no longer need to be proven (sustainable, healthy, easy to maintain). The same is true in the wellness area — a real cocoon on the upper floor — which benefits from increased intimacy and provides views over the project's green canopy.

The boundaries of the facility are treated with care to ensure security without creating an urban rupture. Raised by 80 cm above the natural ground level, the entire project will allow shared parking to be organised as close as possible to the building's accesses, without compromising its integration into the landscape.