Olympic Aquatic Centre
An ambitious project, the Saint-Denis Aquatic Centre, a project that has revolutionised the urban area of the ‘Greater Paris’. A futuristic project by the architects of VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4, built for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The only permanent sports centre built to host official competitions for Paris 2024.
For the Olympic Aquatic Centre (OAC) in Paris, Myrtha designed and built a swimming pool for learning to swim, a leisure pool with water jets, hydro-massage seats and a lazy river. The highlight of France’s most famous aquatic centre is the 70m competition pool for swimming, water polo and diving competitions.
The diving area is divided by a Myrtha split bulkhead and equipped with air safety cushion system – here the complex shapes with variable depths from 2.5 to 5 metres have been defined to save water and improve energy efficiency. The swimming area featured the Myrtha track start blocks. To increase the flexibility, Myrtha installed a second split movable bulkhead, allowing the main pool to be used for both 50m and 25m events or water polo matches. Thanks to the Myrtha movable bulkheads and the movable floor installed on 5 lanes, the OAC’s main pool can be configured in 15 different ways, including for water fitness or aquabike courses that require shallow depths.
Thanks to the partnership between Myrtha Pools and Vogo, the main pool is equipped with an underwater camera system that is fully integrated into the Myrtha panels. Thanks to technical innovation, the OAC’s connected pool allows both streaming and video playback of training and competitions, and simplifies both pool maintenance and video system upgrades.
An ambitious project, the Saint-Denis Aquatic Centre, a project that has revolutionised the urban area of the ‘Greater Paris’. A futuristic project by the architects of VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4, built for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The only permanent sports centre built to host official competitions for Paris 2024.
For the Olympic Aquatic Centre (OAC) in Paris, Myrtha designed and built a swimming pool for learning to swim, a leisure pool with water jets, hydro-massage seats and a lazy river. The highlight of France’s most famous aquatic centre is the 70m competition pool for swimming, water polo and diving competitions.
The diving area is divided by a Myrtha split bulkhead and equipped with air safety cushion system – here the complex shapes with variable depths from 2.5 to 5 metres have been defined to save water and improve energy efficiency. The swimming area featured the Myrtha track start blocks. To increase the flexibility, Myrtha installed a second split movable bulkhead, allowing the main pool to be used for both 50m and 25m events or water polo matches. Thanks to the Myrtha movable bulkheads and the movable floor installed on 5 lanes, the OAC’s main pool can be configured in 15 different ways, including for water fitness or aquabike courses that require shallow depths.
Thanks to the partnership between Myrtha Pools and Vogo, the main pool is equipped with an underwater camera system that is fully integrated into the Myrtha panels. Thanks to technical innovation, the OAC’s connected pool allows both streaming and video playback of training and competitions, and simplifies both pool maintenance and video system upgrades.
Exceeding environmental standards
State-of-the-art technological solutions complete a centre which exceeds today’s environmental standards, not only because of the green area planned around the building, but also because the wood used in the construction of the suspended roof from certified European forests. In addition, the roof of the OAC is covered with 5,000m2 of photovoltaic panels which, together with other renewable energy systems, provide 90% of the electricity required.
Sustainability and urban regeneration
Created for the Paris Olympics, in line with the principles of sustainability and urban regeneration, the project, is a public multi-sports centre open to the citizens of Saint-Denis, as Venhoeven architect Cécilia Gross sums up: “As designers, our aim was to create more with less – less volume, less materials, less energy, more connection, more inspiration to exercise, more nature, more flexibility, more beauty,” said project architect Cécilia Gross.