Situated in the district of Mompiano in the north part of the Italian city of Brescia, this beautiful swimming centre is characterised as urban architecture, open to a specific relationship with the surroundings.

The aim of the architects — Camillo Botticini, Francesco Craca, Arianna Foresti, Studio Montanari and Nicola Martinoli — was to design something different from the classic sports building seen as a ubiquitous object.

The architectural theme is expressed by treating the compact block of the brown Clinker through a sequence of excavated fronts, that change its character in relation to the interior spaces and the different conditions of external reference.

The distribution organises three functional parts: a large main room with a pool for water polo, a nucleus of changing rooms on three levels and a room with two small pools for courses.

The main room has a large window facing the north outside lawn and to the east side it opens towards a patio with beautiful bamboo’s plants.

I love when good design is applied to the spaces for public use. The people of Brescia can swim in a beautifully minimalist environment.

Photography by Niccolò Galeazzi.