A historic seawater pool transformed into a new public amenity on the Gordon Beach.

A historic seawater pool transformed into a new public amenity on the Gordon Beach.

Project Name

Gordon Pool

Gordon Pool is a public swimming pool on the Tel Aviv beach; at the foot of Atarim Plaza and fronting the Tel Aviv Marina. Originally built in 1956, and designed by arch Werner Joseph Whitaker, the historic Gordon Pool included an Olympic swimming pool, a children’s pool and a wading pool, forming a waterfront swimming complex. Characterised by salt water pumped in three pumps from a well at the depth of 150 meters, and heated no more than 24 degrees, the Gordon pool had a loyal following of avid swimmers. Following the decision to expand the beachfront promenade and the poor physical condition of the pool, the Tel Aviv Municipality decided to take ownership over the private pool, renovate it and turn it into public pool.

The main challenge we faced at the outset of planning was the removal of barriers (fences, walls, old infrastructures, mobile structures, etc.) to clear a line of sight to the sea and physically open the space, for heightened accessibility to the public. Once cleared, a flat, continuous space was uncovered, spanning from the Marina to the coastal promenade, creating an opportunity to forge new relationships between recreational users, the pool and the reclaimed site.

A new saltwater pool was designed as an urban amenity, including a main pool with four 50m and three 40m swimming lanes, a 200 sqm children’s pool and a toddler’s pool, submerged in an elliptical demarcated platform, situated  within a newly formed open public space. The renovated Gordon Pool acts as a an unscripted, open waterfront leisure space melding between the community of swimmers and beach visitors.

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Information
Location
Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
Clients
Tel Aviv Municipality
Date
2009
Status
Completed
Size
7,000 sqm
Photo credits
Gordon Pool