Visualisations of Jørn Utzon’s project ‘Swimming Centre at Peblinge Lake’ in Copenhagen.

In the late seventies, architect Jørn Utzon designed a proposal for a swimming pool by the lakes in Copenhagen to replace the 1894 Søpavillonen by architect Vilhelm Dahlerup. The plans to build Utzon’s swimming pool came a long way, but were ultimately dropped when the Søpa villa was listed in 1984, following citizen opposition to its demolition.

The Utzon Archives houses the original drawings of the swimming pool from 1979 and a beautiful model was also built, which is tucked away in Copenhagen City Hall. At the time, the model was photographed by Aage Strüwing and the fine black and white photographs have illustrated the swimming pool and its many delights ever since.

In a newspaper article in the Danish daily Politiken, Thomas Ringhof argues that 35 years after the project was conceived, it will be an invaluable gift to Copenhagen and its inhabitants if the swimming pool is built.

With today’s digital tools, the studio has created a set of visualisations that, in continuation of the original drawings and model photos, attempt to illustrate the swimming pool and how it would look in Copenhagen in 2024.