The Kennedy Town Swimming Pool () is a public swimming complex in

Kennedy Town Kennedy Town is at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th Governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Administratively, it is part of Central and Western District. Due to its ...

, Hong Kong. There have been two pools of this name. The first iteration opened in 1974 while the current iteration opened in 2011.

First generation

Construction of the Kennedy Town Swimming Pool began in 1971 on the former site of the Kennedy Town cattle quarantine depot on Smithfield. The $7.5 million facility was funded by the

Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

and opened on 14 August 1974. At the opening ceremony, Jockey Club steward Douglas Laing unveiled a commemorative plaque. The pool was built and managed by the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

and was the first public pool in Western District. The complex comprised two 50 metre pools, a diving pool, a spectator stand as well as smaller children's pools. The

West Island line The Extension of Island line to Western District (previously known as West Island line) is a three- station western extension of the Hong Kong MTR's Island line. Construction of the line began on 10 August 2009, and the two westernmost stations ...

, a scheme to extend the

Island line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...

railway line to Western District, was gazetted in October 2007 and given final authorisation in March 2009. It was decided to build the terminus of the line,

Kennedy Town station Kennedy Town is the western terminus of the . The station serves the Kennedy Town area on the northwestern end of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. History Planning When the station first appeared in ''Hong Kong Mass Transit: Further Studies'' in ...

, at Smithfield, necessitating the demolition of the swimming pool.

Second generation

The new swimming pool complex occupies a 0.8 ha site near the Kennedy Town waterfront. It was designed by architecture firm

Farrells Farrells is an architecture and urban design firm founded by British architect-planner Terry Farrell with offices in London, Manchester, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The firm has won numerous awards for their characteristic mixed-use schemes, tr ...

, built by Paul Y. Engineering, and cost an estimated HK$671 million. The complex includes two 50 metres pools, a 25-metre training pool, a children's pool and a jacuzzi. The futuristic pool building is clad in zinc, while a translucent insulated membrane roofing system allows diffuse natural light to reach the indoor pool hall. Comprising the outdoor pools only, the first phase of the new complex opened on 11 May 2011. The second phase of the swimming pool, comprising the indoor pools, was completed in 2016 and opened to the public on 7 February 2017.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 22.2860, 114.1313, display=title Swimming venues in Hong Kong Kennedy Town