This is Nemo 33, the deepest swimming pool in the world. Located in Brussels, Belgium, the 113 ft. deep diving facility was designed by diving expert John Beernaerts for instruction, recreation, and film production.
I love the layout and colors of the space; the multi-level plateaus at the top are incredible. This really has a sort of 2001 vibe with a healthy dose of spent fuel pool thrown in. Would love to have a swim in there.
More on Nemo 33
I’m all about lonely and melancholic photography this week — though more importantly — I’m really into the effective implementation of a deceptively simple concept as seen above. Like Nobody is there, this series by J Bennett Fitts steers clear of any human subject; this time with a slightly more ominous tone. The focus of No Lifeguard on Duty is the abandoned swimming pools found throughout the country, usually alongside a similarly neglected hotel/motel from the 60’s. Just in time for summer! (At least in San Francisco…elsewhere in the country a more appropriate summer image might have the pool filled with water and people frolicking about. Here, summer means cold and foggy.)
Swimming pools are signs of spiritual optimism, economic prosperity and the hedonistic good life, so the image of a pool dried up and cracked or half full of dirty water becomes a symbol of disappointed hopes and dreams. A sign on the wall by a pool that was filled in with grassy sod says, ”No lifeguard on duty,” which is funny at first, and then starts to sound like an ominous judgment about modern American life. Ken Johnson
via Booooooom
