Indoor swimming pool north (Ludwigshafen am Rhein)
The North Indoor Swimming Pool is a former swimming pool construction in Ludwigshafen am Rhein . As an important testimony to post-war modernism , it is a listed building .
history
In 1937, the Karlsruhe architect Heinrich Müller presented the first plans for a sports facility with a swimming pool on behalf of the then IG Farben . The indoor swimming pool should have a 25-meter pool in a light-flooded hall, a diving platform with a one- and three-meter board, sufficient space for gymnastics as well as tubs and showers. In the summer of 1938, IG Farben announced a competition. Among the 70 designs submitted, the jury, headed by Müller, decided on the design by the architects Heinrich Schmitt and Philipp Blaumer , who grouped the entire complex around an atrium courtyard based on the ancient model . Opposite the actual swimming pool, an entrance hall was to be created on the other side of the courtyard and both structures were to be connected by the separate changing areas for men and women arranged on the side. The swimming pool opened up to a sun terrace through a large glass wall. A teaching pool was planned in the basement . Unlike originally planned, there was no joint implementation with the sports facility. The city of Ludwigshafen made an area closer to the residential development available through an exchange of land. However, it did not come to fruition: Since the project was of no importance in terms of armaments, it was rejected in May 1939. After the outbreak of war, IG Farben left the plans to the city of Ludwigshafen for later implementation.
In the run-up to the city's 100th anniversary in 1953, BASF, which had become independent again after IG Farben had been broken up, renewed its offer of financial support and made DM 1 million available for the construction. The 1938 design was revised by Schmitt in line with post-war modernism. However, the basic concept of the atrium was retained. The roof construction, originally designed as a hipped roof, was replaced by flat roofs, and the swimming pool was provided with another natural light source by opening the courtyard side. Contrary to the pre-war planning, a grandstand with 300 seats and 600 standing places was installed. With the exception of the swimming pool, all parts of the building were constructed as reinforced concrete structures with ribbed ceilings. The entrance hall on Pettenkoferstraße was functionally enriched by the establishment of a hairdressing salon and a milk bar . The sculpture Fliegender Genius by Georg Kolbe additionally upgraded the entrance hall. An apartment and administrative offices were set up on the upper floor. The side wings included a sauna area, which was decorated with mosaics by Rolf Müller-Landau . The bath was opened in 1956.
In 2001 it was closed after 45 years. The large basin has been used as an extinguishing water reservoir for a neighboring waste-to-energy plant since 2015. The other parts of the building were also converted. The former teaching pool was converted into a conference room.
literature
- Matthias Oloew: Swimming Pools . 200 years of architectural history of the public bath . Berlin 2019, pp. 190–195.
Individual evidence
- ↑ "LUcation" and "Freischwimmer" in the former indoor swimming pool North in LU . on rhein-neckar-industrial culture e. V.
Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 12.5 " N , 8 ° 25 ′ 34.8" E