In the year 2017, the outdoor swimming facility in Fredriksberg (Västerås, Sweden) was destroyed by a fire outbreak. A couple of years later Topia Landscape Architects, in collaboration with Carlsteds Architects, got the commission to design a new swimming facility at the same spot. One of the main goals with the new facility was to contribute positively to the site and reverse the bad reputation that characterized the site since the fire. To do so the space had to be carefully designed and the quality of both materials and equipment that were chosen was of a high standard.
Before the fire, the swimming area was an important meeting place in the neighborhood. With the opening of the new bath the space were designed to become a destination and attract even a wider range of people and visitors from other parts of the city as well.
The swimming area is located in a large park called Fredriksbergsparken and the re-opened facility works as an extension of the park with lots of green spaces and plantings. The whole space is divided into smaller areas; within the area you find a calm café area with a dark brown floor of ground bricks, two water play areas with fountains and running water, and a calmer screened-off area with the smaller pool and sunbeds from Nola. The heart of the swimming area is the large swimming pool, enclosed by a sloping lawn with trees and a large furniture piece for sitting and resting placed under a pergola.
Against the building climbing plants grow and partly cover the facade. Together with preserved, grown-up trees these plants contribute to a sense of a green oasis. Perennials that bloom in blue shades and the azur blue tones in the furniture harmonize with the shade of the water. In the plantings, honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is planted, which when fully grown will give a fine and sheer shade.
Landscape Architecture: Topia landskapsarkitekter
Architecture: Carlstedt Arkitekter
Project location: Fredriksberg, Västerås, Sweden
Design year: 2019-2020
Year Built: 2022
Photo: Nola Industries, Anders Fredriksen
