Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon

The dome will be re-glazed in a material called ETFE, a lightweight transparent plastic from which air-filled bubbles can be formed. It is a highly effective insulator which should considerably enhance the dome’s energy efficiency. The biodomes at the Eden Project in Cornwall are probably the best-known use of ETFE.

The dry-side buildings are not listed and will be demolished, then partially replaced with a new structure.

More about the building

The Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon was listed at Grade II in December 2021 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Historic England’s advice.

It was designed by Peter Sargent of Gillinson, Barnett and Partners in 1974 and opened on New Year’s Day, 1976.

The swimming pool is the best and earliest example of the newly developed building type, which went on to gain huge popularity in the 1970s and ‘80s, marking the cultural shift from swimming for fitness to swimming for fun. Most of the early examples of these buildings have now been lost to redevelopment.

The 45-metre swimming pool dome is an architecturally striking and technically accomplished structure. Externally, it rises from a grassy bank while internally, the aluminium spaceframe provides a dramatic setting for the pool and is well-suited to its use, having withstood the corrosive pool environment. While the glazing has been replaced, the architectural concept remains apparent.

It was carefully planned by the architects to create a fun and attractive leisure space. The key features of the concept survive, including the free-form lagoon pool with its sloping, beach-like approach, and the infrastructure for a tropical planting scheme. Its design remains synonymous with the early development of the leisure pool.