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The world’s first ‘floating’ swimming pool has opened in London, with swimmers braving the heights to have a go. Check it out in the footage below:
The ‘Sky Pool’ is suspended 115ft above the street, and is stretched between the 10th floors of two buildings in the Nine Elms neighbourhood in south-west London.
But don’t get too excited about your chances of having a dip – the capital may be experiencing boiling hot weather at the moment, but only residents are allowed into the pool.
It’s the first in the world, according to Embassy Gardens, the developers for the 82-foot long showpiece.
It holds 50 tonnes of water and also features a rooftop bar and spa, providing the ultimate sky-high package for members of the exclusive Eg:le club that houses it.
It was built by structural engineers Eckersley O’Callaghan, whose director Brian Eckersley said: “Once you swim off, you can look right down. It will be like flying.”
Announcing the launch of the project, Embassy Gardens shared an Instagram post boasting about how the pool is filled with ‘148,000 litres of water and allow swimmers to float 35 metres in the air between two residential buildings’.
The post added: “Our ‘never been done before world first’ SKY POOL is getting ready to launch next month on 19 May.”
According to Embassy Gardens’ website, the concept of the Sky Pool was born on a ‘hot summer’s day in 2013’.
The website explains: “Our creative teams gathered to discuss where to locate Embassy Gardens’ outdoor swimming pool.
“We decided the only space large enough was between the Legacy Buildings.
“As thinking developed, the gauntlet was thrown down: the pool should be a sky pool, something transparent so swimmers could see the ground, and people below could see the sky.“
The team at Embassy Gardens got in touch with architecture firms Hal Currey and Arup Associates. They worked with Eckersley O’Callaghan to develop detailed drawings, showing how the 14-metre distance could be spanned by an acrylic structure.
“After a series of technical drawings and behavioural analyses, the dimensions of the pool were decided,” the website continues.
“With sides 200mm thick and 3.2 metres deep, and with a bottom 300mm thick, the 50-tonne acrylic pool will span the 14 metres between the buildings, with steps and filtrations systems sitting either end, and five modes of lighting to add to the feeling of magic.”
Featured Image Credit: BBC
