Aquatic Center and Spa

Châteauroux, France

An Arabesque on the Landscape

Sports - Wellness

2022

Find out more

Status

Completed

Client

Châteauroux Métropole

Address

Châteauroux, France

Date

2022

Area

8 000 m²

Program (Details)

Triple-height pool hall, two Olympic pools (one 50m outdoor pool and one 25m x 25m indoor pool), a 25m sports pool, leisure pools, 500-seat bleachers, a spa and hydrotherapy area, a fitness room, a multipurpose hall, a cafeteria, changing rooms, administrative offices, a reception area, outdoor solariums with waterslides, and landscaped parking areas.

Credits

Mikoü

Architect

Mikoü

Structure

VP GREEN

Fluids

SOGETI

HQE

TRANSFAIRE

Economy

SLETEC

Others

Maintenance: QUADRIM
Acoustics: Acoustique et Conseil
Landscape: Apres la pluie

In the heart of Châteauroux, the Balsan district unfolds across 4.8 hectares rich in history.
Once a royal manufactory, its factories bore witness to a prestigious industrial past. Their transformation into a digital hub and campus has infused the site with new energy, seamlessly incorporating the aquatic center into its renewed landscape.

Balsan: A Legacy Reimagined, a Sanctuary of Water and Well-being
A place where heritage and modernity converge, fostering innovation and community. At the heart of this transformation, the Balsaneo aquatic center enhances the district’s cultural and academic vibrancy. More than a sports facility, it is a celebration of water—an immersive space where competition, relaxation, and rejuvenation come together. Spanning 2,000 m², this aquatic complex strikes the perfect balance between performance and leisure, featuring swimming pools, spectator stands, relaxation areas, and a balneotherapy suite with hammams and saunas. Outside, a 50-meter Nordic pool, open to the sky, extends the aquatic experience. A multipurpose hall, designed to host concerts and events, along with cafés and a dedicated sports area, completes this invitation to well-being and shared experiences.

The Piano Nobile: A Synthesis of Topography and Landscape

Seamlessly embedded within the urban fabric, the building is positioned along the axis of the main avenue, asserting its presence while maintaining deference to the site’s natural topography. Conceived as a suspended bridge, it spans a 12-meter-wide roadway, rising to form a Piano Nobile, endowing it with the prominence of an elliptical belvedere. From this elevated position, it commands sweeping views over the Indre landscape and unfolds onto meticulously designed landscaped solariums—verdant sanctuaries offering respite beneath the shade of trees.

Structural Lightness and Transparency

The architectural design of the building choreographs a seamless and immersive spatial progression. From the moment one crosses the entrance threshold to the arrival at the pool hall, each step gradually reveals the space in a carefully orchestrated sequence. The circulation path unfolds through delicate perspectives, subtly unveiling the pools and the interplay of light. This movement takes on a ritualistic dimension—removing one’s shoes, relinquishing the superfluous, and finally entering a luminous aquatic realm.

Light as a Defining Element of Design: Light serves as a central element in the composition, filtering through overhead skylights to establish a profound connection with the sky and the sun’s shifting path. From the spectator stands, the gaze descends upon a fluid choreography of water—competition and training pools, leisure and relaxation pools, and an open-air Nordic pool. Every space is designed to offer a distinct sensory experience, seamlessly blending movement and tranquility.
The outdoor solariums, envisioned as rolling, grass-covered dunes, sculpt the landscape into natural terraces, creating elevated platforms where visitors can recline beneath the trees and embrace the serenity of the surroundings. More than a mere aquatic complex, Balsaneo is an immersive experience—an interplay of architecture and nature, an invitation to contemplation and relaxation.