Popular Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool recognised for sustainability

Since reopening in January, Glen Eira City Council’s Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool has welcomed over 90,000 visitors - more than 2,100 people a day - to a facility that achieved a 6-Star Green Star design rating

Designed by CO.OP Studio, the extensive redevelopment reimagined the aquatic facility - a community icon since 1966 - to preserve its historic essence and create a welcoming place for all to enjoy.

The new design allows the community to benefit from a year-round aquatic recreation facility, which was previously a seasonal offering.

The expansion of the facility includes indoor pools with moveable floors, sauna, spa, consulting suites, a café, and program rooms, all housed within a re-envisioned low profile red-brick structure.

Central to a recreational reserve and parkland, the pool’s red-brick pavilion blends seamlessly with the surrounding neighbourhood. It was a priority for Council to retain a low-profile building which is set into the park landscape, making it aesthetically pleasing to residents and improving the look and feel of the community.

Despite the size of the built footprint of the pool more than doubling, the new, longer and taller form achieves the same sense of integration with its surroundings. An ‘earth berm’ helped to achieve the integration and insulates the building, enabling the centre to be extremely efficient, and provides additional open space for native vegetation.

A single break draws visitors through to a familiar pool setting, while a fence around the outdoor perimeter offers optimal views into and out of the facility to enhance the residential and community context.

Strengthening multigenerational connections within the community was an important consideration of the design, with learn-to-swim, warm-water wellness, and interconnected outdoor spaces (including a dive pool, grassy hill, and splash-play) playing an important part in enhancing the health and wellbeing of the local community.

Significantly, the Green Star accreditation process focused on balancing value for ratepayers with providing a leading sustainable facility, with Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool achieving a 6-Star Green Star design rating and one of the highest design review scores for an aquatic centre in Australia.

Speaking about the project, CO.OP Studio Director, Nick Cini stated “as specialists in social infrastructure, our buildings support and inspire communities to come together for their health and wellbeing. Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool does this while also achieving one of the highest Green Star design review scores for an aquatic centre in Australia.”

“The new Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool is designed to tap into the collective memory of the community while enabling the new Pool to be a valued community sport and recreational facility for the next 60 years.”

“Big design gestures are enhanced through details such as the 1950s inspired brickwork and metal work around the splash-play and the reclaimed stonework wall surrounding the family BBQ area, offering familiar touchpoints for the community as they soak up the unique atmosphere of the Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool.”

Glen Eira City Council Mayor, Simone Zmood added “redeveloping the pool presented an opportunity to create a more sustainable, accessible and inclusive recreation facility.”

“Accessibility features such as the splashpad, wheelchair accessible pools, the accessible changerooms and Changing Places facility, means more of the community can enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits on offer.”

“When designing the facility, we listened to the community about what was important to them from the previous pool. The redevelopment has transformed Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool into a modern aquatic and leisure space, while preserving its historic charm.”

Images of the Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool courtesy of CO.OP Studio/Tom Roe.