Allas Cardiff – Bringing New Life to the Historical Docks
A floating pool and sauna complex is planned for Cardiff Bay’s Victorian dry docks. The structure will turn the historical Mount Stuart Graving Docks into a place for year-round outdoor bathing and sauna.
The goal is to bring new life to the Grade II listed dry docks that have been disused for decades. The site has stood empty since commercial shipbuilding left the bay. Conserving the maritime heritage of the place, the design keeps the dock walls, steps and structures intact.
Working within the existing elements of the site rather than over them, the design is specifically tailored for the heritage and the landscape of the bay. With key architectural features and a material palette drawing inspiration from the built context, the proposed two-storey building will have a distinctive character of its own within Cardiff Bay.
A New Way of Engaging with Water in the Docks
Introducing a new structure over the water, the complex extends the urban public space of the city. The idea is to give people a new way of experiencing the presence of water as an important part of the identity of the city and its history. The floating sauna and pool provides access to water in a part of the city where swimming has previously been considered dangerous and prohibited.
Adjacent to a wetlands reserve and a recreational trail for biking, jogging and walking, the floating structure invites people to experience the shoreline as an important part of life in the city. The floating sauna and pool is easily accessible by various means of public transportation, including boats, as well as by foot, and bicycle.
Bringing the Dockside into Public Use
With an open view connecting the city and the water, the floating sauna and pool will serve as a place for social gatherings. It offers a rich variety of activities including sauna bathing and several pools for outdoor swimming all year round. It also features a restaurant, a cafeteria and a multipurpose space for events, as well as sundecks and terraces. Live music, events and community programming will keep the site lively well outside the summer months.
The baths will be open to the public all year. The terraces and the waterside walk around the dock, as well as the upper level restaurant, will remain open to everyone without an admission charge. Together they bring a stretch of the Cardiff Bay dockside into public use.
A 25-metre heated outdoor swimming pool forms the central core of the new structure. It will be complemented by hot and cold pools, four saunas, as well as changing and relaxation facilities. A public cafe, a restaurant and the related outdoor terraces looking out over water provide magnificent views across the bay.
Collaboration of Three Specialist Practices
Realized by Nordic Urban, the scheme brings together three specialist practices. OOPEAA has led the concept design development as concept architect. GROSS.MAX, a UK-based landscape architecture practice, oversees the landscape architecture. SPACE & PLACE, specialist Sports and Leisure Architects, will act as the local architect in the delivery phase.
The design is developed on the basis of the Allas Global Concept created by OOPEAA for Nordic Urban. It expands on the concept of a public sauna as a place of relaxation and wellbeing in the city. Creating floating saunas in often otherwise underutilized sites, it offers people a new way to experience the presence of water as part of the identity of the city.
Transforming Urban Waterfront Areas
The Allas Global Concept for a system of floating pools illustrates the potential of architectural interventions in transforming urban waterfront areas into mediating zones that help improve resilience in the city. Activating people’s relationship to the waterfront, the floating structure introduces a new platform of public space in the city.
The system of floating pools and sauna offers an opportunity to enjoy outdoor bathing even in the Nordic winter weather. The goal is to offer an experience of the Nordic values of good life by activating people’s relationship to the waterfront and by providing a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
The scalable system of floating wooden structures makes it possible to work with sites where it may not be possible to build on land. It is flexible, modular and adjustable. Combined with a custom toolbox, the modular system opens possibilities for easy customization. That makes it adaptable to the needs of different audiences and sites.
Made of CLT elements, the timber structure provides an ecological choice. It allows for flexibility in application as well as for sustainability in the life cycle of the building. Transportation of the modular elements for the floating structure is possible to arrange over waterways.