You could call it the architectural equivalent of method acting. The ambience FCB Studios wanted to create in a new swimming pool in Formby was of taking a dip in a tranquil forest lake. So to capture the mood, that’s what lead architect Andy Couling and colleagues did – in Finland.
Naturally, it’s more involved than that. Couling and team flew north to evaluate Finnforest’s Kerto structural laminated veneer lumber for the project, and decided to try out a lake near the factory as an afterthought. “But the swim did help focus our ideas,” he said. The trip also sealed the decision to use Kerto – or “glorified plywood”, as Couling calls it – and that, in turn, contributed to Formby netting Gold and Best Structural use of Timber categories at the 2007 Wood Awards.
Sefton Borough Council (SBC) had a public pool on its tick list for Formby for years, but the project didn’t get going until it was picked up by Formby Land Trust, a charity linked to the Moores family. It bought the town’s old football ground for the site and provided most of the funds, SBC raising the balance.
But while the council backed the project, it still laid down pretty tough planning parameters. The site is in the town centre and three times the size of the pool building. The planners wanted maximum use made of the area and for the facility to offer something for everyone, not just swimmers. It also had to be “beautifully crafted” and sustainable – and all for about £7m.
FCB’s winning pitch for Formby was “tripartite”, its design housing not just 25m and and learner pools, but also a fitness suite, café and exhibition area, all set in a landscaped park. 
“The park is be open to everyone, while the pool is for swimmers and the café is where different users meet,” said Couling.

The 50m Pratt truss props the west elevation 

The building’s upper ‘volume’ houses the pool hall and café and slopes front to back and lengthways, reaching its highest point at the deep end. The lower ‘volume’ includes the changing rooms, fitness and service areas and, like the pool structure, features large areas of glazing to maximise natural light, give views over the park and draw in passers-by. 
Perhaps the biggest plug into sustainability of the design is the extensive use of wood.
“We pushed timber due to its environmental credentials per se, but also because it performs as a swimming pool frame material,” said Couling. “Steel might be cheaper, but wood doesn’t suffer the corrosion problems. We recently used a timber frame for a pool in Chipping Norton and I’ve seen others which are   as good as ever after 30 years.”
Timber was also selected for the ‘swim in the lake effect’.
“Swimming pools often aren’t uplifting places; you’re alienated and disoriented, going from cosy changing rooms into the pool with its noise, artificial light and smell of chlorine,”  said Couling. “We feel sports and leisure should be about reconnecting with nature – so a lot of timber and a lot of daylight.”
At Chipping Norton FCB used glulam, but opted to look at the more expensive Kerto for Formby for several reasons; because it can be used in smaller dimensions, has an equally strong ‘green’ hook (it’s made from abundant Nordic spruce and has PEFC eco-certification), and because it hadn’t used it before.
When Couling saw his first sample he was surprised at its ‘crudeness’ compared with glulam, but once he appreciated its “fundamentally structural” quality he was converted.
“It was developed for industrial sheds, so it’s not a ‘joinery’ product like glulam and not as easy to repair or finish, but it  does have its own character,” he said. “It is like plywood and has a certain order that appeals to architects. It has fine black glue lines, but we were able to specify them on one side only.”

The bow string trusses in the pool roof are propped on a hidden Pratt truss 

Kerto features at Formby in 140x315mm pillars and, in combination with steel rods, in the (140x315mm) bow-string trusses supporting the ‘plough share” pool roof (the other flat roof areas use engineered timber I-joists supporting OSB decking). It is used too in 32x1200mm sheets for the pool roof deck. “Another attraction of the material is the dimensions available,” said Couling. “The deck specification comes in sections up to 18m long, which means you get a uniform finish over large areas. It’s like putting together big bits of Meccano.”
The material, plus steel rods and flitch plates, was also specified for a hidden 50m Pratt truss. This was devised with structural engineers Whitbybird, and props the west elevation, supported every 10.8m by Kerto and steel composite columns.
“The truss allows us to have the large, unimpeded expanse of glass,” said Couling. “Originally I’d envisaged using a plywood box beam, but we needed something more substantial.”
Another challenge was to eliminate conflict between the
natural movement of the timber and the rigidity of the glass panels. Part of the solution was to divide the west glazed screen into three sections. Cladding consultancy Montrésor Partnership also devised a ‘pin and shoe’ glass-Kerto connector which allows the timber to slide in two directions.
While timber forms the core structure at Formby, concrete also plays a key role. This forms sheer walls in changing areas and, of course, the floor plinth, which sits on sheet pile foundations and is topped with ceramic tiles or slate.
“Timber cassettes are fine for most timber frame buildings, but not where your principal cleaning implement is a hose!” said Couling. “The Kerto pillars are also kept out of standing water, by sitting on a concrete upstand or in galvanised steel shoes.”
Prior to Envirograf intumescent treatment, the LVL was finished with a milky Valtti stain. This was partly to prevent discolouring, but also to set the timber off against the darker (44x19mm) Douglas fir lathe cladding on ceilings and the walls of the pool and external entrance area. Besides adding to Formby’s natural aesthetic, this is also functional, combining with 30mm of Rockwool insulation to create reverberation-reducing baffles.
The finishing touch to the building is (120x25mm) English oak exterior cladding and copper on the ‘ploughshare’ roof.
“We liked the idea of materials that will mature with the park,” said Couling. “The copper will go green and the oak a silvery grey – and we’ve limited overhangs to ensure it ages evenly.”
Couling acknowledges that Formby was not without its problems. In fact it took 36 months to complete rather than the 16 scheduled. The main hold-up was the principal contractor and two sub-contractors going into liquidation, but getting to grips with Kerto also caused delays. The £1m fabrication and erection of the principal timber components was handled by the  experts at Constructional Timber of Barnsley without a hitch, but subsequently materials “suffered from inadequate quality control” at the hands of less experienced site workers.
“We had lumps knocked out of it and water damage, so we had to order more from Finland,” said Couling.
The experience, he added, underlined the UK’s need for more specialist timber construction contractors. Ultimately, though, it won’t deter FCB using Kerto or other engineered wood products. “Using new materials is part of what excites us and we can apply the lessons we’ve learned on other projects.”
And clearly the aggravation paid off in other respects, with Formby Pool netting a RIBA National Award as well as the brace of Wood Awards. The judges for the latter described the building as “flawless” and “truly modernist”. “Winning the Wood Awards was pleasing because timber had always been an important element of the design process and at times caused us angst,” said Couling. “It was nice to have our choice validated.”
As to whether the building captures the authentic swim-in-the-lake experience, Couling can’t say for sure as he hasn’t tried it yet. However, the Wood Awards judges did also describe it as “transcendental in its simplicity and calmness”.