PERFECT FIT IN A CONFINED URBAN LOCATION

SCHLOSSBAD IN NEUMARKT IN DER OBERPFALZ

The Schlossbad has been built on the plots of the old outdoor pool and replaces the rural district’s former indoor pool that was used particularly by schools and clubs. The special challenge of the project was the confined built-up location of the existing outdoor pool site, to which a huge programme of rooms was to be added. The design by Dietzer Architekten integrates the existing facilities and the nearby palace pond (Schlossweiher).

Its population of 40,274 makes Neumarkt the fourth largest town in the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz). As the first „Bavarian Fairtrade Town“, Neumarkt is perceived beyond the region as particularly attractive for tourism and leisure activities. It is also home to large sports clubs and top-level training centres.

The existing outdoor pool site was bordered to the north by a U-shaped structure alongside the residential development. The outdoor pool grounds are contained and extended by the building struc- ture and remain an integral part of the design concept thanks to the large glass frontages. The existing buildings have been uniformly enclosed by a facade.

The various bathing levels follow the existing topography. These extend visually across the open foyer to the apron of the castle pond and invitingly connect the street space and the bathing facilities. The sauna area with its spacious terrace perches above the bathing levels and follows the shape of the building.

The specially developed wayfinding system is typologically consistent throughout the pool facility and provides an overview in the draft lobby in the form of a tactile building plan. The wayfinding system for the visually impaired leads from here to the central cash desk area. The three cash desks here serve the indoor pool with its sauna and outdoor pool as well as the adjoining shop area. The cash desks are supported by a vending machine, and the existing outdoor pool access can also be used during busy periods in the summer.

The ground floor accommodates the changing areas for bathers, with individual, family and barrier-free changing rooms with direct access to the fun pool and children‘s area. On the first floor are the changing areas for the sauna and the open-plan changing areas for clubs and schools.

With 268 m² of water surface and a water depth of 1.35 m, the fun pool has numerous attractions such as massage jets, floor bubblers, neck showers and bubble loungers. As soon as they enter the pool, bathers have a view of the current channel with a rocking bench. A special attraction is the waterfall with a specially designed rain curtain, with lighting effects and rain showers.

Four swimming lanes with a length of 20 m are integrated into the fun pool, making it a multi-purpose pool that can be used in different ways according to operational requirements.

The year-round outdoor brine pool is part of the fun area and features such attractions as massage jets, floor bubblers and neck showers on a water surface area of 100 m². The pool‘s brine content is around 2%. Around the pool, the year-round outdoor area is designed as a sunbathing and relaxation area and leads via steps to the topography of the outdoor pool. In the summer months, it is possible to cross to the outdoor pool via a turnstile.

The children’s pool is a designed space that links the fun area with the competition and action area. Framed by heated benches as relaxation zones, two pool levels with different water depths extend over an area of around 100 m² including a water surface area of 40 m². From the upper pool with a water depth of around 20 cm, a connecting slide leads to the lower pool area with water depths of up to 45 cm. The difference in levels is also used for the boat canal with its water wheel.

The teaching area is spatially and acoustically separate for operational reasons, but, with its glass elements and views, is designed with transparency in mind. The pool with a water surface area of 125 m² can be variably adjusted in depth from 0 to 1.35 m via the movable floor. The movable floor’s zero position also serves as the pool cover during night-time operation, which means that the air exchange rate can be reduced due to the reduced evaporation.

Main attractions: water climbing and inner-tube slide

The 25-m sports pool with its eight lanes can be used as a competition pool with six competition-standard lanes and incorporates such additional attractions as a diving tower with

The selection of materials and the design have been deliberately reduced. Natural and hard-wearing materials such as fair-faced concrete, wood and the blue-green iridescent tiles on the bathing levels are the dominant materials.

The interior design concept has been carried through to the facade with its green anodized elements. The facade elements, combining to form a geometrically stylised wave, were produced using a special shaping process. The anodized surface coloured using the Permagreen process is as robust as it is lively, reinforces the design with its deep contrasts and flips from yellow to dark green in the colours of the surroundings and the castle pond.

The sauna is designed as a scenic area of cubes and spaces in between. Although outwardly similar, each interior has been designed with its own unique theme borrowed from the locality. The castle pond sauna is a special highlight as a bio and gentle sauna. As a physical focus, it captures the natural surroundings of the castle pond in the floorto-ceiling panoramic window.

a 1-m diving board and 3-m diving platform. The plunge area with a depth of 3.80 m is cleverly exploited with a water climbing facility over 5 m high.

In addition to the special design of the fair-faced concrete wall featuring reliefed acoustic elements and acoustic elements on the rear walls of the seating niches, the ceiling has a functional design. The baffle ceiling design significantly increases the acoustically effective surface area and makes it possible to integrate the lighting fixtures into the spaces within the construction.

The indoor pool terminates at the action area with its water slide. The 80-metre inner-tube slide is accessed via a spectacular stair tower. The slide area has been designed and preequipped for a second slide as a speed slide.

The shared kitchen in a central location makes it possible to run the catering service with minimal staffing at off-peak times. The atrium is a separating element, but skilfully provides a link between the sauna and pool areas.

The pool restaurant is designed on the free-flow principle. Various seating options with niches and fixtures create a pleasant and homely atmosphere.