Pool and Recreation Center, Sari — 5th Place

The Indoor Pool and Recreation Center in Sari, Mazandaran, was designed by Arshia Sholeh and Arash Mozafari for the Ministry of Interior. Spanning 3,500 square meters, the building stands as a bold geometric composition set against the lush green landscape of Mazandaran province on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The project was recognized with a joint 5th place in the 5th Grand Memar Award (2005) in the public buildings category.

The design employs a striking vocabulary of intersecting planes, angular cantilevers, and large expanses of glass that dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior. The building's white volumes appear to float above the terrain, supported by pilotis and punctuated by a dramatic curved glass-block facade that houses the main pool hall. A sequence of concrete portal frames creates a processional corridor along the building's perimeter, framing views of the surrounding landscape.

The program accommodates a full-sized indoor swimming pool, a body-building hall, lobby, buffet, administrative offices, changing rooms, shower and sauna facilities, a jacuzzi, and a balcony overlooking the pool. The first-floor plan reveals how these diverse functions are organized around the central pool volume, with the circular jacuzzi element projecting as a distinctive rounded form on the building's eastern end.

Exterior

The exterior composition demonstrates a masterful handling of volumetric interplay. Viewed from the southwest, the curved glass-block wall of the pool hall reads as a luminous surface beneath the sweeping horizontal plane of the roof. From the northeast, the building's full complexity is revealed: angular roof planes intersect at dynamic angles, while a rhythmic series of triangular fin-like elements punctuates the upper elevation, lending the structure a kinetic quality.

Night Views

At night, the building transforms dramatically. The curved glass-block facade radiates a warm amber glow, while the full-height glass curtain wall of the pool hall reveals the illuminated interior, with the water's surface reflecting the structural grid above. The interplay of transparency and translucency creates a lantern-like effect that establishes the building as a beacon within its coastal setting.

Project Details