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Our design for swim complex De Slag makes sports, health, and nature visible throughout. We implemented a low-tech spatial strategy that works for both place and people. It promotes a healthy lifestyle and social relationships through better and more sustainable development, landscaping, and architecture.

Local ecosystem
De Slag is firmly rooted, in Zaandam, in the surrounding park in the local community. First, the complexes’ silhouette is defined by the well-known Zaandam sloping roofs. Then, as a welcoming gesture to passers-by, we added conservatories on the sunny south and west façades to envelop the entrance and the restaurant. These glass domes allow for a peek over the pools and soften the transition between surrounding park life and the building’s shared spaces.
Along with strengthening the local social cohesion, we set De Slag to restore the local natural ecosystem. Carefully chosen plants and flowers enrich the surrounding embankments and thus biodiversity, nesting boxes for birds and bats allow for shelter, lush planting inside the greenhouses purifies the air so they act as the green lungs of the complex.

Future-proofing the pool
In winter, the greenhouses function as a thermal barrier to reduce heat loss. Overall, minimizing energy consumption is central to the design.
With the use of natural and reusable materials and a demountable, modular construction, De Slag underlines high standards for sustainable sports facilities. The bricks to be used in the facade are set for a second leash of life, the floor tiles will be produced according to cradle-to-cradle principles, and the light-weight zinc facade cladding is perfectly suitable for future reuse. Moreover, the wooden construction spanning the pools as well as the wooden finish indoors add up to improved acoustics and a warm natural atmosphere.

Sports hub De Slag invites to join and meet, to recreate and train.