YEAR:Fall 2012
SIZE:5600 SF
LOCATION:Manhattanville, NYC
As Columbia University continues its controversial expansion into Manhattanville there are questions about how the school will interact and integrate with neighborhood residents. Rather than separate the two populations, Harlem Pool merges the university spaces by creating a dual-use facility where local residents and Columbia students can congregate to swim. In addition to the basic programs for the Columbia swim team, including locker rooms and a competition pool, the new facility also incorporates a large rehabilitation center and a rooftop pool along with other amenities.
Each of the building’s three main water zones (a competition pool, a rehabilitation lap pool, and a rooftop deck) is modeled after an existing waterside site. The competition pool is surrounded by marshy grasses and plants that help filter water similar to a freshwater pond. The rehab pool mimics the boardwalk conditions found in Venice Beach, California. The rooftop deck features an infinity pool with a glass edge and is meant to evoke an oceanside horizon. It has a wood-decked zero entrance edge that simulates the conditions of entering the ocean.The roof deck also appropriates a condition that many New Yorkers have experienced; occupying your apartment roof during the warm summer months. A looping figure eight walkway circulates visitors in and out of framed views of the pool. These views begin at the competition pool and ultimately lead in and out of the building until they terminate on the roof.
