UK's first public swimming pond to be opened in King's Cross

The UK's first man-made public swimming pond will be opening in King's Cross on Friday.

The 40m pond, entitled 'Of Soil and Water' is in Lewis Cubitt Park -- at the heart of London's largest mixed use housing development and transport hubs. It aims to provide visitors and residents with a beautiful area "where they can swim and enjoy a piece of a nature in an urban location".

It has been created by Ooze Architects and artist Marjetica Potrč in Lewis Cubitt Park and will be purified through using wetland and submerged water plants to filter and sustain clean and clear water. It is due to be opened for at least two years.

"We have to re-think how we live with the city and with nature," Potrč said. "Here, we are collaborating with nature and the artwork encourages the viewer to participate in that experience.

"Water is a source of life but it is also a metaphor for regeneration. We want to understand our influence upon nature but also our balance with nature."

Eva Pfannes from Ooze Architects said: "The project is an attempt to capture the dynamicity conveyed by the changes within the area, a moment in time where new possibilities and possible futures arise.

"In this particular project, the juxtaposition of something so natural in an urban environment was a very important idea for us. It is meant to look unpolished and to evolve as the seasons change."

The pond was built by Europe's leading natural pool designers BIOTOP and iKingcombe Aquacare Ltd.

It will operate on a limited daily ticket basis from Monday to Friday from 6am to dusk, and Saturday-Sunday from 8am-dusk, and will be run by experienced sport and leisure management charity Fusion Lifestyle.

Booking enquiries can be made by visiting www.kingscrosspond.club