SECTION DESIGN
THE SKY’S
THE LIMIT Talking to Ballymore about breaking new ground
to stay true to an artist’s impression. We really wanted to create something that would capture people’s imaginations” However, after the long years spent trying to make the pool into a reality, the firm had success in September last year (2020). Due to the highly specialist nature of the materials and demands that would be placed on them, a specialist manufacturer was appointed in Colorado called Reynolds Polymer, where they had to undertake rigorous, hydrostatic testing. After this, the pool travelled 1,000 miles to Galveston, Texas, before making its three-week journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Antwerp, Belgium. From there, the pool was transferred to London Gateway and then travelled across the River Thames to Albert Embankment overnight, before reaching its final home at Embassy Gardens. “It’s wonderful as a developer to be working with so many excellent businesses and individuals” explains Peter McCall, “the architects, artists, engineers, specialist manufacturer testing facilities and logistics companies all played a truly crucial role to get this project to completion. It’s always worth the long hours when a project on this scale, with such unique and breath-taking elements, is finished.” The rooftop on either side of this crystal-clear pool that appears to float in the air, is home to the Sky Deck, a double terrace incorporating a bar and restaurant serviced by onsite Darby’s restaurant. This will be furnished with loungers where
S
uspended 35m in the air, the Sky Pool has captured imaginations across London and beyond. Thanks to recent developments in materials technology, many ideas that would have been impossible to execute only a few years ago, now offer a multitude of dizzying opportunities. The Sky Pool is the most recent example of this and is all the more spectacular for being so aesthetically pleasing. Filled with 148,000 litres of water, the Sky Pool spans 15 metres, is 10 stories high and connects two apartment buildings (a world first) to allow residents to swim between them. Given the unpredictable nature of UK weather, it seems serendipitous that the opening of the pool coincided with the hottest weather of the year so far. It’s no surprise then, that when the population was boiling, the images of the gravity-defying Sky Pool captured imaginations and inspired many articles and features in the press and on social media. We have been speaking to BITA sponsors, Ballymore, about the project, and what it took to get it across the finish line. Peter McCall, UK Construction Director at Ballymore said; “The structural engineering firm who developed the pool, Eckersley O’Callaghan, spent seven years developing it and trying
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