CITY OF LONDON FREEMEN’S SCHOOL POOL, ASHTEAD, SURREY
classroom and event space. Views from both the event reception and event space into the pool are framed by deep window seats, along with blinds to achieve visual separation if necessary.
A staircase leads down towards the pool, with doors on one side leading to the changing rooms and then the pool, and another door which leads into the spectator seating area.
Glazing has been used around all four walls to flood the structure with light. “When it came to daylighting, we had to be cautious,” says Cossey, however. “We didn’t want glare on the water surface, because that would impede competition swimming.” The south facing glazing has an opaque finish, so there’s no chance of any direct sunlight onto the water. “What we can have, however, is indirect sunlight, i.e. from the north east facing elevations. We’ve got floor to ceiling glass on the lower level, and that allows plenty of daylight into the building.” On the upper levels, glazing wraps the event space, as well as the building’s main reception area.
Swimming pools are frequently heavily serviced and environmentally controlled buildings. The final design of the Freemen’s School pool was developed to remain relatively free of services and the associated clutter. All of the environmental control systems, as well as the water treatment plant, are located around the perimeter of a subterranean base, which at its centre houses the pool itself. To introduce airflow into the hall, discreet slots are located in the floor beneath the glazing, reducing the condensation risk and evaporative heat loss from the pool.
The design achieved a BREEAM Very Good rating – the building’s carbon emissions are reduced by 10 per cent thanks to roof PVs. Further carbon savings are planned later in the project, with the next phase of works on the main house to include a CHP energy centre that will utilise the pool as a heat sink. Environmentally-conscious products have been specified such as Foamglas insulation, which is made of recycled glass. To minimise the building’s impact on the landscape, the swimming pool’s lower ground floor is partially submerged. This ‘beds’ the structure to some degree into the surrounding scenery, and preserves a large number of the existing trees, with the highest point of the gently pitched roof identifying the main entrance.
ADF AUGUST 2018
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