Fall of the Seawall: Freyberg Pool and Fitness Centre, 139 Oriental Parade Wellington, Recreational Swimming Centre

Abstract

The transformation from the historic Te Aro Salt Baths to the existing Freyberg Pool on Oriental Parade was conceived as the theoretical starting point for this design investigation. "Architecture should not be seen as an autonomous agent of creativity, but rather as part of a history that transcends their own production and that to a large degree gives it form." The historic Te Aro Salt Baths, established in 1862, consisted of two segregated male and female saltwater swimming pools, separated from the sea by a single Seawall. A century later in 1963, Freyberg Pool was built directly upon the female section of Te Aro Baths; traces of the original piles can be found today. The male section of Te Aro Baths remained in its original site for some years, though the integration of the two pools was never made and the exterior pool was eventually demolished. This design research investigation explores the iconic character of the historic seawall that established a literal threshold between the artificial pool and the sea and a symbolic threshold between the historic saltwater baths and the new indoor fresh water pool. This threshold also represented a critical transition between old and new: social segregation of male and female, inside vs. outside, natural landscape context vs. Architectural intervention. Oriental Parade recently underwent a renovation entailing the historic return of three lost beaches, beach shape, and control points, with the addition of slatted wood and concrete promenade and pier, etc. This return of the historic harbour front concludes directly outside the Freyberg façade, missing a vital opportunity to interact directly with Freyberg's interior and its historic past. In this investigation, two symbolic interior pools have been designed to represent the historic Te Aro Baths: one male, one female. They subsequently merge to form the central integrated swimming pool. Symbolic architectural elements and changing materiality lead the occupant through a sequence of pathways designed to explore the atmospheric era forgotten. Slatted wood and concrete from the new exterior conditions are brought into the new interior creating strong contrasts between light and shadow. The axis of the new pier is directly orientated with Freyberg pool which extends the opportunity for interrelated composition with Freyberg's interior intervention. These interventions reawaken the spatial connection to Oriental Beach and the historic connection to the original wooden slats of the seawall of Te Aro Salt Baths. Freyberg Pool is an instrument of culture, transformed through history to serve the public, initiated through social demand. Freyberg is physically tied to its cultural roots of Te Aro Baths' female pool, which continue to trace existing foundations. Freyberg pool solves the demand as an institutionalised cultural centre; however the architecture is seemingly disengaged with this historic past, unable to represent its reliance upon and vital connection to cultural relationships with the public.