Proposal for Copenhagen-style outdoor swimming pool at The Gorbals in Glasgow
A floating outdoor swimming pool could be created on the River Clyde as part of a proposal to bring new life to Glasgow’s waterfront.
Joe Logan, design director of Glasgow design firm LOGAN, has unveiled a concept for a self-contained swimming pool beside the Gorbals. The facility would sit on a non-tidal section of the river and use its own managed water rather than asking swimmers to enter the Clyde directly.
The proposal has been inspired by harbour baths found in European cities, particularly Copenhagen, where designated waterfront pools have become popular places for recreation and socialising.
Logan said the swimming pool had been one of the ideas to receive the warmest response during consultation with local people. The intention would be to provide a safe and controlled place to swim while developing The Gorbals’ relationship with the river.
LOGAN has been holding discussions with New Gorbals Housing Association about whether the project could form part of a wider transformation of the area’s riverfront.
The association is a community-controlled organisation established by local residents in 1989. It now manages more than 2,500 socially rented homes in the area.
The swimming pool concept is linked to a broader ambition to establish The Gorbals waterfront as an arts and cultural quarter, with space for music, fashion, film and other creative industries.
Copenhagen’s harbour baths have been presented as a model for the Glasgow proposal. The Danish city has established official swimming zones around its waterfront, with water quality checked regularly and bathing restricted when conditions are considered unsafe. Some facilities are free to use and include lifeguards and separate areas for children.
However, the Glasgow pool remains an early-stage concept without a proposed cost, funding package or construction timetable.
Further technical work would be required to establish how the pool would be built, maintained and operated, as well as how access, water treatment and public safety would be managed.
LOGAN said local consultation had demonstrated strong interest in the idea, particularly during warm weather, when increasing numbers of people seek safe places to swim outdoors.
The practice believes a managed riverside pool could provide a new leisure attraction for residents while helping Glasgow make greater use of one of its most important natural and historic assets.
A floating outdoor swimming pool could be created on the River Clyde as part of a proposal to bring new life to Glasgow’s waterfront.
Joe Logan, design director of Glasgow design firm LOGAN, has unveiled a concept for a self-contained swimming pool beside the Gorbals. The facility would sit on a non-tidal section of the river and use its own managed water rather than asking swimmers to enter the Clyde directly.
The proposal has been inspired by harbour baths found in European cities, particularly Copenhagen, where designated waterfront pools have become popular places for recreation and socialising.
Logan said the swimming pool had been one of the ideas to receive the warmest response during consultation with local people. The intention would be to provide a safe and controlled place to swim while developing The Gorbals’ relationship with the river.
LOGAN has been holding discussions with New Gorbals Housing Association about whether the project could form part of a wider transformation of the area’s riverfront.
The association is a community-controlled organisation established by local residents in 1989. It now manages more than 2,500 socially rented homes in the area.
The swimming pool concept is linked to a broader ambition to establish The Gorbals waterfront as an arts and cultural quarter, with space for music, fashion, film and other creative industries.
Copenhagen’s harbour baths have been presented as a model for the Glasgow proposal. The Danish city has established official swimming zones around its waterfront, with water quality checked regularly and bathing restricted when conditions are considered unsafe. Some facilities are free to use and include lifeguards and separate areas for children.
However, the Glasgow pool remains an early-stage concept without a proposed cost, funding package or construction timetable.
Further technical work would be required to establish how the pool would be built, maintained and operated, as well as how access, water treatment and public safety would be managed.
LOGAN said local consultation had demonstrated strong interest in the idea, particularly during warm weather, when increasing numbers of people seek safe places to swim outdoors.
The practice believes a managed riverside pool could provide a new leisure attraction for residents while helping Glasgow make greater use of one of its most important natural and historic assets.