Natural Swimming Ponds Ditch the Chemicals

This gorgeous swimming pool isn’t a typical chlorine-filled watering hole–it’s actually a natural swimming pond that relies on plants to filter the water. (Don’t worry, you’re not swimming among the plants and stepping in squishy mud; the plant regeneration area is kept separate from the swimming area.) Even if you already have a swimming pool, you can enjoy the benefits of a chemical-free pond and relaxing natural environment using the structure you already have with a few design changes

Natural swimming ponds are already quite popular in Europe and are gaining interest in the US. Companies like Clear Water Revival (UK) and Total Habitat (US) can help you design your perfect dream pond, or revamp the pool you already have. The cost of new natural ponds versus conventional swimming pools is said to be comparable, but maintenance costs for a chemical-free pool will be much lower. (Just think of the increased health benefits as an added bonus.)

A natural pond is usually larger than a normal pool to accommodate the plants, rocks, and natural vegetation that comprise the filter zone (separate from the designated swimming area). Once water filters through the plant zone, it is then pumped through a UV filter to ensure maximum cleanliness and aeration. Typically, natural ponds have a waterfall to pump water back into the swimming area. Design and shape options are endless.

Whereas a conventional pool is little more than a concrete tub, a natural pond is a landscape centerpiece that will enhance the value of your home and quality of your life. What could be more beautiful than that?

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Herzog-de Meuron Breaks Ground on Public Bathing Lake in Riehen

In 1979, just a year after founding their practice, Herzog-de Meuron won a competition to design a public swimming pool for the Swiss municipality of Riehen. After developing several unrealized iterations over the following years, the project was put on hold indefinitely in 1982. Twenty-five years later, in 2007, Herzog- de Meuron were commissioned to rethink the project and proposed to abandon the conventional pool concept with its mechanical and chemical water treatment systems in favor of a pool closer to natural condition with biological filtration.

Understood as a bathing lake, Naturbad Riehen was modeled after the natural pool on the local “Badi”, Basel’s traditional wooden Rhine-side baths, which combine a lively atmosphere with a timeless appearance. Planted filtering cascades purify the water and define the soft edge of the lake, as the site’s southern perimeter opens up to the river, bounded only by a green hedge.

A multi-functional timber wall, that offers a 200-meter long sheltered solarium with recliners, shields the site on the north and west from the adjacent roadway as it connects to an entrance on the east that provides support amenities.

The biological water treatment basins – the non-mechanical “heart” of the baths – are embedded in the sloping landscape on the opposite side of the road. Together with various leisure facilities provided here, they form a recreational area open the whole year round to the municipal population. In terms of ecological cleaning capacity, the baths are designed to accommodate 2 000 bathers per day.

Rosenfield , Karissa. "Herzog & de Meuron Breaks Ground on Public “Bathing Lake” in Riehen" 09 Apr 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Apr 2013.