Natural swimming pool in Riehen by H&deM

The Basel duo Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron, after more than three decades, has finally had their opportunity and, together with city representatives, launched the construction of a new swimming pool in Riehen (the residence of Pierre de Meuron) near the German border. Today, undoubtedly the most famous Swiss studio was established in 1978, and shortly thereafter, they managed to win an architectural competition for a suburban swimming pool in Riehen. As the location of the baths changed, the young architects repeatedly had to submit new designs until, after long 34 years, they finally laid the foundation stone at the beginning of March.
The main goal was to create a 'natural pool' that would function like a regular swimming area by a pond. The regular outline of the 25-meter pool is hidden in the 'blurred' edges smoothly transitioning into the surrounding meadows. The changing rooms and other facilities are concealed behind wooden walls that resemble a regular fence, simultaneously separating the recreational area from the adjacent busy road.
The old swimming pool had to be closed and demolished in 2007 to make way for a new duty-free zone between Lörrach and Weil am Rhein, for which the German side compensated Riehen with 2.5 million Swiss francs. An additional 5.2 million francs was approved by the local parliament as early as 2011, and the remaining third will be covered by lottery proceeds. The construction, costing a total of 10 million francs, will be completed in the summer of 2014.

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