29 February 2008

Another post on the Pools

We would be interested to hear what facilities you would/would not like to see on the site, particularly what would you use. We can then put these ideas to Councillor Best and the council in advance of any design for the new building.

A few ideas to get you started and for your comments:
* 2 pools (main pool and learner pool)
* machine room (gym)
* dance/yoga room
* indoor games court (football, badminton, tennis, basketball, netball)
* climbing wall
* cafe
* small meeting room
* Large meeting hall
* class rooms for adult education
* wave machine / water slides
* display on the history of pools and public baths
* opening roof to create a lido in the summer

Not all of these would be possible with a limited budget, so we would like to know which we should have. It is important to focus on what should be in the new building at least as much as how it should look.

To encourage your views we have switched on commenting on this site to allow everybody to have their say on this and other issues discussed on the site.

BBC London report on the pool demolition can be found here.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm disappointed that the current building is being demolished and I'm naively hoping that it will not be replaced with an uber modern building that will date badly and look tatty very quickly as is often the pattern of new heavily engineered structures. Anyway.. in terms of facilities.. two pools, several badminton courts, squash courts would be my preference.

Robert McIntosh said...

would it be feasible to make this some sort of eco project that would help to minimise running costs and give it a design purpose beyond simply building a new leisure centre?

They might be able to get more grants for this and it would certainly hep towards the council's 'green' targets

Happy Snapper said...

Definitely 1 or 2 pools, badminton/tennis courts, aerobics/yoga room,cafe.

Not too bothered about water slides etc as I'm more of a 'serious' swimmer! But perhaps there could be periods when those aspects are closed. (I'm not sure of the size of the site).

Climbing wall would be FAB and I love the idea of an opening roof! That would be a real USP.

I like the idea of having a green roof or something similar to what the Horniman have.

Whilst it's a shame to have to lose the building itself, we must move on and I'd rather have facilities there than an old boarded up building. Plus, if the design is complementary to the surroundings, even if it IS modern it will still look great. Look at the London Eye for a good example.

I personally can't wait to see what happens.

Anonymous said...

A teaching pool would be brilliant. One that could be kept at a temperature that is warm enough to teach children of any age.

It would also be useful to have treatment rooms for specialists like massage therapist or physios to use. They could bring in extra revenue with the use of a small amount of space.

Anonymous said...

Why can't we save the current building facades and get architects to submits design in a competition for the best scheme for the use of the site that we can all see and vote on. It seems as if the council haven't explored any other possible opportunities or schemes, only a report on the condition of the building. Currently the council don't know what will replace the baths which I find baffling!

Don't knock them down until you have a viable scheme to replace them.

Anonymous said...

There should be times when the small, heated pool can be used only by adults for hydrotherapy exercises.