Hudolia Aquatic Centre, Dourdan

Project overview: 

The aquatic centre is composed of an indoor 312 sqm sports pool with 5 swimming lanes, an indoor 220 sqm leisure and learner pool, a toddler pool, a 190 sqm outdoor heated sports pool open all year round, 2 cardio-training rooms, a wellness area with an 85 sqm aquatonic pool equipped with benches and massage jets, a sauna, a hammam, a rest room and a refreshment kiosk.

Anchored at the heart of the Pays Dourdannais, the Hudolia aqua-leisure centre is a flagship project of the Community of Communes and meets the sporting and leisure needs identified across this territory, particularly for schools and clubs. It is integrated into the landscape, between a historic centre, public facilities, detached houses, shops and the very nearby forest. It replaces the old municipal swimming pool, which had become obsolete and unsuited to the new needs of inhabitants. The architecture of the aquatic centre seeks to be discreet, fluid and integrated — as if the building had always been there. The entrance opens onto the panorama of the pools and, through transparency, all the way to the wooded slopes of the hill. The lines of the building are very straight, leaving room for plays of curved walls at certain points. The use of warm and noble materials was a deliberate choice from the very beginning of the project.