Harnes Aquatic Centre

"Buildings, too, are children of the earth and the sun" said Frank Lloyd Wright.

The future Harnes aquatic centre is one of those — rooted in history, in the "already there", through the enduring presence of the slag heap. It does not deny the existing; it honours it, reinterprets it, and offers a resolutely contemporary response that makes sense at every scale.

Our project is yours, adapted to the required uses and consistent with your technical, environmental and operational/maintenance ambition.

Our stance favours common sense and authenticity, sobriety and accuracy. It responds to the singularity of the Harnes territory and its challenges:

From the black country to the green country

When confronted with the slag heap, no one can remain insensitive to its matter, its grainy texture, that deep and intense black — a synonym of the sheer power of this object that crowns the Harnes landscape.

The relationship to the earth marks the starting point of the building's envelope. A "coal" cape of charred timber, subtly revealing yellow streaks as a memory of the original material still intact. This envelope, which is nothing less than an ode to the "already there", continues into a protective enclosure for the whole, with a façade that evolves into a fence running around the entire site.

This silent register does not call out — quite the opposite, it integrates, connects, re-founds. Crowned by a vegetal canopy starting from the green spaces created or enhanced, this gesture firmly anchors its long-term integration.

The wave as anchor

The slag heap reads as an accumulation of small units that form a permanent, eternal whole. Fragmentation, as a system of composition, becomes a clear response for the building.

The slag heap finds its anchor through a base that wraps around itself to rise towards and into the sky. This movement recalls the drop of water meeting the ground, from which waves are born. Waves that inspire shapes with benevolent roundness to make up the volumes of the building.

The project brings together five "pebbles" of irregular shapes, with a softness that embraces the territory and pays tribute to it.

Luminous breaches

The highest point of the slag heap — its "eye", towards which it builds its verticality — invites the gaze to scan, to search the distance. The relationship to the sky, through the verticality of the slag heap, is expressed in the project through luminous breaches around the perimeter of the roof.

The waters of the future Harnes aquatic centre bring together the different audiences and reveal the sky through skylights. These openings pierce the great white sail crowning the bathing area, flooding it with natural light.

A wide opening to the south completes these light contributions — a major comfort issue for this type of facility — and invites contemplation of the unchanging slag heap. With clarity established, this bioclimatic orientation is an obvious choice that makes sense given current environmental concerns and urgencies.

Legible and efficient functionality

From the territory springs the architectural stance, combined with form that adapts to function.

Each "pebble" houses a programmatic entity, intelligently organised in response to the site:

- The changing rooms to the north-east, directly linked to the reception

- The administration to the east, directly linked to the hall and the reception

- The plant rooms to the north-west, discreet and secure

- The toddler pool nestled to the west, in connection with the leisure area

- The Wellness Area to the west, calling to calm and tranquillity

And at the centre of these various volumes: the pool hall, the epicentre of the project — the common denominator of the refined pebbles — radiates outwards. Sheltered beneath the white sail, it rises towards the south to free the view towards the slag heap.

The reception hall slips between 2 pebbles to the east, inviting visitors into the facility through its great transparency — from the public space of the forecourt towards the pool hall and, beyond, the slag heap in the background. This entry sequence signs a project whose treatment quality is exemplary, from the outdoor spaces to the indoor spaces.

Flows are separated in line with the brief's requirements, making the use of the facility clear and efficient depending on needs, audiences and attendance.

Smart energy and environmental performance

From the charred or natural timber cladding on the façades, to the landscape treatment of green spaces that encourages biodiversity;

From the glulam timber structure to the timber acoustic cladding of the pool hall; from the heat-pump system (PAC) to the photovoltaic solar panels;

The future Harnes aquatic centre is exemplary in its bioclimatic design and in its considered, optimal and relevant integration into its environment.

The choice of timber expresses our strong commitment to building with a local, available, low-carbon-footprint material. The majestic and slender glulam roof structure of the pool hall fits within this aspiration.

The landscaped green spaces improve outdoor air quality by capturing dust and suspended particles. The albedo — or reflective power — of the white roofs reflects light, sending back the heat of the sun's rays.

Water and energy consumption will benefit from privileged and finely tuned monitoring. As a result, operating costs will be remarkably well controlled — a significant economic challenge and asset, all the more so in the current context.

Exemplarity, authenticity and intelligence are the values bestowed on the ambitious future Harnes aquatic centre.