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Post by Spitz on Aug 23, 2006 14:38:04 GMT
 The Lido in Weston-Super-Mare - how fabulous is that? - why do Councils these days show so little feel for a classic design? Maybe the Government's 'health and safety' men can't stand to see the youth of the country being plunged into a reckless swimming pool, when a war will do just as well. |
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Post by E.D. Wivens on Aug 24, 2006 20:04:35 GMT
The Lido in Weston-Super-Mare - how fabulous is that? Thoroughly. why do Councils these days show so little feel for a classic design? I don’t know, I think it’s lots of things. No-one builds swimming pools or lidos, only “leisure centres” and “health and fitness clubs” and “inclusive recreational facilities” (actually, I think I made that last one up but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that that is how they are referred to in some places). Added to that, everyone is accountable for the money they spend, these days. You spent how much on an elegant piece of concrete? And why? Because it looks nice? A pre-fabricated steel structure would have been much quicker and cheaper to erect* There is also a tendency for designers to be placed in “silos”, getting on with their jobs without thinking about the whole picture. So the architect’s job is to draw a pretty picture, the engineer’s job is to make it stand up and so on. Some of the best concrete structures (such as the penguin enclosure at London Zoo) were designed by engineers with flare, like Ove Arup. There are some elegant structures around, still (albeit not built by councils): although it wobbled at first, I think the Milenium bridge is very elegant. I would hope no-one tries to dive off it, though  . * Although not much cheaper in terms of materials, steel prices rocketing the way they are. |
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Daz Madrigal
lounge lizard 
a Child of the Matrix
Posts: 11,120
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Post by Daz Madrigal on Aug 25, 2006 12:53:10 GMT
Oh that was in one of the links at the top.
Yes..everythings very minimalist these days. Minimalism generally means minimum work..it far harder to prodice something ornate and involving true craftsmanship.
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Daz Madrigal
lounge lizard
a Child of the Matrix
Posts: 11,120
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Post by Daz Madrigal on Aug 25, 2006 13:04:56 GMT
Look at the craftsmanship here..and the showers are something else!!!  ..actually powerful heaters to allow open-air bathing during winter. No idea why that idea didnt catch on? |
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Post by Pink Betty on Aug 25, 2006 13:47:57 GMT
Due to increased tourist traffic I will be swimming the winter months to avoid the unseemly amount of people using 'my' beach in summer . |
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Post by Myster Riven on Sept 17, 2006 19:29:17 GMT
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Post by Pink Betty on Jun 28, 2007 10:10:08 GMT
...don't you think Daz carries this off rather well?  |
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Post by piccione on Jun 28, 2007 15:38:12 GMT
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Swimming Coach to the Stars
Guest
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Post by Swimming Coach to the Stars on Jun 28, 2007 15:48:52 GMT
Only if all the board members make a huge effort to encourage him. You might not know it, but Daz is not as confident about his crawl as he should be. Thankfully he's a dab hand at the breast stroke. So Lady Markham-Harsley tells me.
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chavette
Madrigal Member
Love For Sale
Posts: 507
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Post by chavette on Jun 28, 2007 17:18:20 GMT
Come On Daaaazzzzz! U candoit.  |
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Post by Ethel Merman on Jun 28, 2007 18:50:49 GMT
 Another shot of the Weston-Super-Mare boards for ya, Spitz.
But that was the past and this is the future:
from Lido-Cool to Eco-Pool"]http://tinyurl.com/ypy6nz]from Lido-Cool to Eco-PoolAnother promising new branch of pool design opened recently in Gloucestershire: a commercial eco pool. Domestic eco pools have been around for a few years, but this one is part of a luxury health "artspa" at the Lower Mill Estate - a sort of Hamptons-style second-home complex-cum-nature reserve near Cirencester. Rather than treating the water with chlorine and other chemicals, eco pools use reed beds to clean it naturally, and the water flows like a slow river, preventing the build-up of algae and debris. As a result, they're not only more environmentally sound than conventional pools, they're also friendly to wildlife. "I have this sort of ridiculous notion of Swallows and Amazons, and swimming in rivers and ponds as a kid, and it just appealed to me, the idea of having a swimming river," says Jeremy Paxton, Lower Mill Estate's developer. "It's a fabulous habitat - we get swallows and housemartins and dragonflies, we even had a kingfisher come by the other day." Paxton is already planning a whole village based around a much larger eco pool, which residents will be able to dive into from their balconies.
This exclusive fantasy world might be a long way from your average municipal pool, of course, but that's possibly the only context in which such ideas are ever likely to be realised. And once developed, there's no reason why eco pools couldn't work in the public realm. Paxton estimates his cost 25% less to build than a conventional domestic swimming pool. "I'm of a vintage where lidos existed and I loved them," he says. "It would be fabulous to see a proper public lido heated by solar and wind power, filled by rainwater run-off, full of wildlife. Could it work? Absolutely. |
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Post by Pink Betty on Jun 29, 2007 11:22:56 GMT
That sounds fantastic - have you got a pic?
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Post by piccione on Jun 29, 2007 12:06:12 GMT
/////Only if all the board members make a huge effort to encourage him./////
Oh yeah, of course. While he is in training camp, I’ve started fundraising for a charity called ‘The Underdog’ on his behalf.
I know that’s what Daz would want.
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Daz Madrigal
lounge lizard
a Child of the Matrix
Posts: 11,120
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Post by Daz Madrigal on Jun 29, 2007 12:20:07 GMT
Only if all the board members make a huge effort to encourage him. You might not know it, but Daz is not as confident about his crawl as he should be. Thankfully he's a dab hand at the breast stroke. So Lady Markham-Harsley tells me. And pulling strokes and butterflying. Did you know that butterflyin' was NY rhyming slang for lying. Theres a NY Dolls which I'd previously tough was about a resistance.butterfly collecting where he keeps repeating 'I aint butterflyin, honey!' Anymore misheard or misunderstood song lyrics welcome. |
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Daz Madrigal
lounge lizard
a Child of the Matrix
Posts: 11,120
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Post by Daz Madrigal on Jun 29, 2007 12:21:10 GMT
Why are we starting threads about 'swimming'..any reason?
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