Swimming pool in Mango

Property of: Kurdahl Arne – Nielsen Lis Hoejgaard (Denmark)

Constructed: 2008 – 2010

Situated in the San Donato region of the village of Mango (CUNEO)

Piedmont ITALY

The swimming pool we designed and constructed is a perfect model of simplicity and functionality. The house owners’ brief was quite clear; they wanted a pool that was narrow but long, that would allow them to maintain their levels of fitness. They wanted a swimming pool to swim in.

Given the clear, concise nature of the brief it was agreed that the pool should be four metres wide and ten metres long. These dimensions allow two people to swim good lengths together and achieve some decent distances without having to continually execute end wall turns.

The third dimension is the depth of the pool itself; having studied the brief it was decided to propose a constant pool depth of 1 metre 40 centimetres; this proposal was accepted by the owners in that they were not interested in deep dives and to that end would not be installing a springboard but would only require the installation of a ladder for entering and leaving the swimming pool.

In sharp contrast to the pleasing simplicity of the shape of the swimming pool, there quickly arose a series of geological and technical problems relating to the site chosen for the actual positioning of the pool.

Examination of the chosen sloping site showed the need for a robust and durable fixing of the terrace on which the pool was to be built; a solid rock bed and the natural slope of the land necessitated the use of 12 micro-rods in the foundations with a further five braces positioned longitudinally.

The actual construction was painstaking and lengthy, with reinforced concrete foundations extensively underpinned with steel rods and braces with reinforced concrete above. The structure was then faced with a pleasing finish of split stones from the Langhe region in a dry stone walling style that is in sympathy with typical local tradition.