Kennedy Town Swimming Pool

The Kennedy Town Swimming Pool (KTSP) forms a new civic and recreation hub in an historic Hong Kong neighbourhood. Likened to a futuristic spaceship by local media, the KTSP was constructed in two phases. The first phase comprises a 50-metre outdoor pool and a smaller leisure pool. The second phase includes two indoor pools and a community garden. KTSP owes its distinctive shape to the triangular site. Inspired by a shell, the shape of the sweeping zinc roof responds to the building’s context: the orientation of the outdoor pool maximises the magnificent view of Victoria Harbour while shielding swimmers from the noise of the buses and trams to the east. Natural zinc’s self-healing properties and ability to return to its ultimate patina was appropriate for a building constructed in two phases with a six year gap. Light weight, long spans, transparency, natural light and excellent performance against solar gain were key criteria in the selection of materials for window walls and the roof over the indoor pool. Laminated glass with a high performance PVB layer was chosen for window walls while insulated PTFE membrane was used for the roof light, flooding the indoor pool hall with natural light.