Kastrup Sea Bath, Denmark

The Kastrup sea bath is by White architektur, Denmark. Via archdaily. Photographs: Ole Haupt, White Arkitekter, Erco Lighting, Åke E:son Lindman

The idea behind this swimming platform and pier is that in the not overly warm Danish summer it shields swimmers from the wind and contains the sun. It’s environmentally friendly, relatively low impact and made of durable Azobé wood. A continuous bench lines its interior allowing people to relax, watch their friends or kids, enjoy the sun. In the long, dark Danish nights, the pier and  curverd structure are lit by energy-efficient LEDs, making it both an interesting visual feature and a place for walks. What’s nice about the structure is that it’s utterly free and open to the public. It would be wonderful to see something like this around here, though against our more mountainous, complicated horizons its shape would no doubt be have to be different. This structure seems to both honour the flat horizon and make it more interesting by echoing distant islands, land and bridge. It’s beautiful to see it weathering to a silver colour from the original honey colour – these photos must have been taken at different points. I loved this paragraph by the architects:

“An important part of the concept for the Sea Bath is that is free of admission and open to the public at all times. The bath is designed to be a rather untraditional framework for exercising sports activities. There is room for a peaceful evening swim as well as exercise and playfulness. It is envisaged that old Mrs Jensen will be as comfortable as the younger more sports orientated visitor. Ramps, and other special features and facilities allow the less mobile members of the population full access to the sight.” (I think they mean site, but sight is nice too.)