Pool

A celebration of outdoor swimming, Pool looks at the history, design, and architecture of pools, as well as their social aspect. The 1930s architecture of the pools is often sleek and elegant, evoking speed and efficiency. The pools themselves are great social levellers—public spaces where everyone is stripped down to a bathing suit.

The book begins with a history of the pools, their grand beginnings after the buttoned-up Victorian era, their falling popularity in the 20th century, and the newfound appreciation for the outdoor pool, or lido, and outdoor swimming in the 21st century.

Journalist and architectural historian Christopher Beanland picks the very best of the outdoor pools around the world, including the Icebergs Pool on Bondi Beach, Australia; the 137m seawater pool in Vancouver, Canada; Siza's concrete sea pools in Porto, Portugal; the restored art deco pool in Saltdean, UK; and the pool at the Zollverein Coal Mines in Essen, Germany.

The book also features the lost lidos and the fascinating history behind the architecture of the pools, with essays on swimming pools in art and the importance of pools in Australia. In addition, there are interviews with pool users around the globe about why it is they swim. The book is illustrated throughout with beautiful colour photography, as well as archive photography and advertising.