In this month's issue of Architectural Record, the "cover girl" is Les Bains des Docks aquatic center located in France's channel port city of Le Havre. The $29 million public pool appears awfully photogenic, with help, of course, by good material choices and smart lighting.The water, large skylights and glossy or translucent surface materials provide a calming, and clean ambiance, almost oxymoronic to what one might expect from an affordable, public swimming pool. The only area with any color is the children's play area, seen below.
Although no lighting designer is associated with the interiors, there are feature elements that show the architectural firm, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, had an overall interest in honoring and playing with light in this project. One that especially caught my eye is a transparent film with images of the light patterns refracted in water, as you'd see while opening your eyes underneath a pool, that are attached across skylights. These cast playful patterns on the surrounding white walls and move around the room through-out the day. This mirrored motif of light strikes me as almost tongue-in-cheek, or, at the least, very playful, a rare feat where architectural lighting is concerned.Unfortunately the only image I had of these stretched fabrics was scanned from the issue of Architectural Record below. The pattern of light is shown on the wall, and although abstract, its concept is charming.
