Clear-Bottomed Pool Floats Between Two London Buildings

A London bar has taken swimming pools to the next level. A new pool that’s see through has been suspended between two apartment buildings 115 feet up in the air. So what’s the deal?

The Sky Pool floats 10 stories above the ground and is a part of the Embassy Gardens, which is a community from EcoWorld Ballymore that is used for many purposes. It is situated next to the American Embassy in the Nine Elms neighborhood of the city and is a short distance from the Thames River.

The acrylic pool was build in Colorado and was carefully shipped across the Atlantic in order to be installed. It is 82 feet long, 10 feet deep, and 16 feet wide, and overlooks the London Eye as well as the Houses of Parliament.

While this will be a sight for sore eyes, it won’t be available to the public. Swimming in the pool will be limited to the residents of the 2000 apartments and homes.

The pool club area is build on a solid rooftop and features a bar, spa, and orangery. There’s also an aerial walkway between the two buildings that share that’s adjacent to the pool.

The idea for the pool started all the way in 2013. The building’s site managers were trying to figure out where to fit a pool in, when they realized that a solution would be between the two Legacy Buildings.

The site describes the concept: “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.”

Structural engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan worked with Hal Currey and Arup Associates to make the suspension possible between the 45 feet of space between the buildings. There are also fives modes of lighting to “add to the feeling of magic” as they describe.

Another London-based sky pool is in the works as well. The Infinity London is planned to be a 360 degree rooftop infinity pool which will be situated on the top of a 55-story building.