In France, following the success of the Vichy swimming-pool, it is the turn of Paris to receive its own swimming-pool made of stainless steel.
Designed by architect Berger/Anziutti and built by pool manufacturers HSB (Austria), the Alfred Nakache swimming-pool located in the twentieth district near Belleville was inaugurated on April 4th 2009 and opened its doors to the public on the 11th April.
Photo Credit: Patrick Berger et Jacques Anziutti
This innovative construction in stainless steel meets HQE standards
Stainless Europe, with grade 18-11ML (316L / 1.4404), is the first major stainless steel manufacturer to embrace this innovative construction which meets the High Environmental Quality (Haute Qualité Environnementale) standards. This project was declared a forerunner for its HQE approach by the Scientific and Technical Center for Building (French independent body for certification and standardization for construction).
Stainless steel : material of choice for hygiene and acoustic comfort
The facility comprises three pools utilising stainless steel: a 25 metre sports pool, a 12.5 metre training pool and a paddling pool.
The choice of stainless steel is justified by the designers mainly for hygienic and acoustic reasons.
The design requirement called a material resistant to humidity and easily cleanable to avoid microbial presence. In contrast to tiled floors, where assembling results in numerous joints, stainless steel limits the formation of these microbial zones as it can be installed from wider strips than in a tiled floor, with the corresponding benefit from a reduction in the number of joints.
The level of acoustic comfort required was the second criteria where the tiled floor failed to meet the specification when compared with stainless steel. Acoustic isolation is possible by the inclusion of perforated fibre-glass panels on the walls surrounding the swimming pool.
For more images and information on the Alfred Nakache complex, have a look at the video presentation of this ground-breaking, ecologically sound initiative.
ArcelorMittal published a guide entitled "Stainless Steel for Swimming Pools" - aimed at designers, builders and managers of swimming pools, detailing the advantages of this solution.
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