Bellbowrie Pool | bureau^proberts

The Bellbowrie Pool is an award-winning design response to Brisbane City Council’s need for a new flood-resistant pool facility following the 2011 floods.  

The building’s form is a response to overland flow and river flooding, while the feature brick wall creates a playful, robust street presence and redefines the character of the pool complex. Two pavilions encapsulate a new landscape square overlooked by a community veranda space. 

Bureau^proberts worked closely with an artist to design a brick pattern for the wall, which references the flowering gums familiar to the suburb and from which Bellbowrie is reported to have drawn its name. A large free-form gum flower is represented in white brick and addresses the street at the civic scale. Bricks with an expressed flower motif derived from the Flemish bond brick pattern provide the background brick to the free-form gum flower. The redevelopment was named winner of the coveted 2013 Think Brick Awards Horbury Hunt Commercial category, with the technical difficulty and striking visual appeal being highly regarded by the judging panel.