Järvabadet

designed by LAND arkitektur /

Location / Stockholm — Sweden — Type / Baths — Sport & Recreation — Built / 2019 — Show on Google Maps / Published on January 28, 2021

Järvabadet is an outdoor bath located in the expansive and protected Järvafältet, a vast, green field in the western outskirts of Stockholm. The new facility features a 50 m pool, and two smaller pools for children and training along with two buildings housing changing rooms, staff quarters and other amenities. Aiming to create a gathering point for residents in the adjacent suburbs that are located quite far from any natural water and bathing areas, the bath also provides opportunities to learn the vital skill to swim.

The surrounding landscape has heavily influenced the design. Järvafältet is an agricultural landscape with open fields and scattered clusters of forests, characterized by open spaces and long views. The placement of the facility is carefully adapted to the organization and structure of the landscape. The entire bath is rotated to align with the angle of the agricultural plots and is tailored to fit within the dimensions of one of these plots.

A careful placement of new clusters of trees allows for the facility to be almost merged into the landscape and the nearby deciduous forest when viewed from afar. The location and architecture of the buildings mirror the character of the adjacent farm, Eggeby gård, in size, roof angles and materials. As the terrain slopes slightly from north down towards the south, the organization of the pools and facility follows the inclination. The three baths are located on different levels where terraced grass surfaces provide seating and hang-out-space. The levels within the bath create spatially defined units.
The entire facility is enrolled by a 2.5-meter-high fence with vertical posts and ribs of the same dimension. The railing is interspersed with open, transparent parts to invite the field into the bathing experience.