Pool K by dmvA Architecten

At first glance, dmvA Architecten‘s “Pool K” project resembles Le Corbusier’s rooftop reverie at the de Beistegui penthouse (destroyed), a similarly Surrealist gesture complete with lawn floor, false chimney place, and high walls that occluded Haussmann’s proud boulevards and Paris’ most beloved monuments from view. Like that erstwhile dreamscape, “Pool K”is a three-dimensional abstraction inserted mid-air into the urban context, little of which, besides the towering basilica nearby, can actually be seen from within this solipsistic space.

The rooftop pool and patio are supported by a new reinforced concrete structure integrated within the shell of an abandoned school building. The structure was renovated and its interior reprogrammed with thoughtful new spaces, including a ground floor “outdoor kitchen” and a multifunctional first floor studio. Still, the rooftop whitescape was granted priority of design, with great care and consideration given over to the materials and forms that characterize the zen-like room. A polyurea coating was applied to all of the deck surfaces to ensure its clean, even antiseptic appearance. Any joints and would-be connections are dissolved into a tectonic seamlessness, with only the pool ladder and a narrow band of rocks along the deck’s perimeter to detract from the otherwise featureless space.

All photos: Frederik Vercruysse

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged abstraction, de Beistegui, deck, dmvA Architecten, patio, rooftop pool, surrealism, swimming pool, White, whitescape

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