The world's first
By The World's Best
Bringing the Sky Pool to life has been years in the making. After four years of engineering, fabrication, and testing, the dream is a reality. Bradford partnered with international developers EcoWorld Ballymore Group and Colorado-based acrylic specialist, Reynolds Polymer to deliver the world’s first ‘floating pool’. Located in London next door to the US Embassy, the pool is suspended 115-feet in the air and spans an 82-foot distance between the two residential towers of Embassy Gardens.
From Dream
To Reality
Bradford provided two, open-ended stainless steel pool sections that cradle the acrylic and act as anchors on each rooftop. The pools, which are roughly 19.5’ x 21’, were fully fabricated in Bradford’s 170,000sqft facility in Leland, NC before being shipped to London in two ready-to-install pieces. The pool sections were engineered with rebates in the walls and floor to accept the 14” thick acrylic and secure it in place.
Accommodating the natural building movement and expansion and contraction over time requires the pool to be supported by a bearing system, similar to those found on bridges. This system allows the pool to move as one unit, independent of the buildings.
Precison Construction
Remarkable Results
“Projects like this are where we excel,” says Bradford CEO, Michael Brodeur. “The Sky Pool challenged us in every part of our process – from engineering to cutting to welding, every tolerance had to be exact. Our team really thrives in scenarios like this and they absolutely delivered their best on the Sky Pool.”
“Building the pool sections wasn’t the only test with this project,” Brodeur notes, “Shipping oversized loads internationally is a challenge within itself, but the biggest hurdle came with working out the logistics of finishing the project in the middle of a pandemic in another country.” Covid restrictions delayed the finish of the pool and the grand opening by several months. “We were a piece of a puzzle that was put together on an international scale.”