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London could be home to world's first glass-bottom, 360-degree rooftop infinity pool
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The 600,000-liter pool would be heated by waste energy from the building's air conditioning system, and a built-in anemometer would monitor wind speed. (Compass Pools/File)
L
ondon could become home to the world's first 360-degree rooftop infinity pool, offering swimmers uninterrupted views both above and below the water.
It's early days yet, but London-based engineers at Compass Pools have released designs for a 55-story building called Infinity London, featuring a 360-degree pool that takes up the entire rooftop, blurring the line between pool and sky.
Set 200 meters above the city skyline, the pool would be made from cast acrylic rather than the more reflective material, glass, for a completely transparent effect in the day. At night, a spectrum of light fixtures would turn the pool into a sparkling, illuminating beacon from afar.
The glass-bottom pool is also designed to allow visitors to the building to see swimmers above, while giving swimmers the illusion of being suspended in the sky.
Read also: World's deepest pool coming soon to Poland
Interestingly, unlike traditional architectural designs, Compass Pool's designer and technical director said the project was conceived entirely around the pool, rather than the building supporting it.
"Architects often come to us to design rooftop infinity pools, but rarely do we get a say in the building design because the pool is usually an afterthought," said Alex Kemsley in a statement.
"But on this project, we actually started with the pool design and essentially said, ‘how do we put a building underneath this?"
The 600,000-liter pool would be heated by waste energy from the building's air conditioning system, and a built-in anemometer would monitor wind speed.
A rotating spiral staircase, designed after submarine hatches, would rise from the pool floor to provide access.
Infinity London is meant to be a five-star hotel, but location, partners and contractors have yet to be confirmed. Construction could start as early as 2020.
