Aqua Leisure Center in Val de Scarpe | SAREA Alain Sarfati Architecture

The pleasures and playfulness of water were the guiding principle for an aqua leisure center that is at once modern and rooted in tradition. From ancient baths to modern spas, water is present in all of its forms: as a means for exercise, family recreational activities or personal body care. The space had to be unique in terms of its facilities, architecture and location. Intended to be a place for people to come together, it had to be attractive and appealing, inciting people to come, discover, and come back again, exploring a new aspect each time. The modernity of the building and facilities lies in their capacity to inspire, providing an ideal space for reverie. Far from a “palm tree” exoticism, the structure is intended to stand as a poetic metaphor, offering an architecture that is in synch with nature and the people who use it. To ensure that the project and its realization fulfilled its intended role, we have gone above and beyond mere decor or the thematic, however rich. From the very start of the design process, we sought to draw upon an inexhaustible world of imaginative metaphor, so that pleasure may be experienced ever anew, free of artifice.