Would you swim with 3D sharks?

Imagine swimming among deadly sharks without worrying about your limbs getting chopped off? Or get as close as you possibly can to colourful jacks, or stingrays and dolphins, without having to dive 40 metres into the deep blue sea?

Wed, 13 Aug, 2014 - 01:00

A design firm in Hong Kong are in the process of turning your underwater dream into reality.

Swimarium 3D has been conceptualised by OVA Studio — The swimming pool simulates open water diving experience (OVA Studio)

Envisioned by architects at OVA Studio, Swimarium combines the features of an aquarium and a swimming pool – and magnifies that experience, enabling swimmers to feel they are wading through the sea rather than a luxury pool.

Created as a conceptual design feature for a magazine commission, this virtual reality swimming pool is equipped with footage (live, as well as recorded) of diving hotspots that is broadcast through HD/360 underwater cameras and LED screens that serve as walls and flooring.

“I always thought of enhancing swimming pool experience like having aquariums on the sides (or the middle) or having all its surfaces as mirrors to give you a sense of floating in space,” says founder and company director Slimane Ouahes.

“We came up with the Swimarium when we were asked by the South China Morning Post to design a swimming pool that was ‘out of this world’ to be featured in their magazine.”

To heighten the open-water experience, the designers intend to make goggles that are incorporated with 3D effects. Together with hydrophones and speakers that will mimic oceanic sights, sounds and even smells, the experience will be more real than ever.

“Sounds such as gentle waves on a sandy shore and smells will contribute to the immersion into the natural beauty of those remote places,” Ouahes adds.

Built across two storeys, the futuristic pool also comes with a dry basement viewing platform for those who don’t fancy getting wet. A photovoltaic transparent glass dome acts as a skylight to the pool, and the upper level houses an open-air jacuzzi as well as an outdoor bar.

“Instead of designing one more infinity-pool, we tried to explore uncharted waters involving technology and changing for ever the swimming experience,” the architect explains.

For a change of scenery, the user can simply change “channels” using a portable device like a TV remote, taking them from Maldvies to far-flung locations in Hawaii in an instant.

The studio, which specialises in architecture, design and master planning is looking to develop the idea by adapting the concept for use in theme parks, swimming pools, diving schools and even private residences.