Well, not just one plain old pool, but the complex that is supposed to house 2 pools, tropical waterfall, flaming baths…
Petra Balija writes for Večernji list about the presentation of the preliminary design for the new sports and recreation complex in the western neighbourhood of Špansko. Planned for a while now, it seems to finally be shaping up, and yesterday’s first look at what the complex should look like in three or so years is the step in the right direction. Three years is an optimistic estimate, as that is how long it would take to build and finish such a large structure if everything goes smoothly, if there’s money in the city’s budget, if all paperwork is done on time and no tenders get cancelled for any reason.
The people living in the western neighbourhoods in Zagreb are waiting patiently for this project to finally bring them a swimming pool, as there isn’t any at that part of the city currently. The complex is supposed to be located at the south-eastern edge of the carting arena in Špansko, it is supposed to house two closed swimming pools, the larger one 33×25 meters and 2.2 meters deep, and a smaller one 25×12.5 meters with slanted bottom. It will also have stands for some 250 spectators, sauna, gymnastics hall, coffee shop etc. All of those were obligatory elements in the tender for the preliminary designs, whose results we got to see yesterday.
The tender lasted for 3 months, and has received 42 applications. The winning proposal was from the Ante Murales Project Studio, signed by the architects Ante Nikša Bilić, Sunčica Mastelić-Ivić and Marko Gusić. Member of the winning team, A. N. Bilić says that their idea was to revive the idea of the 19th century bath, but in a modern way, within the enclosed glassy, very-well lit area, where they even included the gardens along the outer edge. In addition to the big pools, the team proposed a whole series of other water attractions, such as Jacuzzis, geysers, mud, flame and sound baths, tropical waterfall, hot-stone treatments etc. They also included a large water slide in the design, because, obviously, you really need to have a water slide in a new pool complex. All of that will make that complex the centre of the social life for the entire neighbourhood, which is currently missing such a location. The social aspect would even be strengthened if the square on the east of the complex were to be built, but that is the matter of an ongoing litigation, and that square would include a very shallow pool which could be used for ice-skating in the wintertime!
The price-tag for the entire investment is 56.2 million kuna, just below 10 million euro.
