Clavel Arquitectos is behind the design and construction of Odiseo, a building designed to function as an urban oasis and leisure center in Murcia, Spain. The most striking feature from the exterior is what will be Europe's largest cantilevered pool—and the second largest in the world.
Text description provided by the architects. The project's architect, Manuel Clavel Rojo, founder of Clavel Arquitectos, was the first to test the 42-meter pool, which features a 20-meter cantilever on each side, following the tradition in which creators must assume the risk of testing their own designs.
Located at an entrance to the city center, the building creates an ecosystem shielded from the harsh climate of one of Europe's sunniest and most tourism-oriented cities. To achieve this, the design features an elevated forest rising up to 30 meters, protected by a tubular lattice. Together with shaded water sheets, this setup tempers the microclimate, controlling the heat from the intense Mediterranean sunlight. The design thus follows traditional courtyard temperature-control schemes dating back to the 10th century, which leverage natural air currents—here accelerated as they pass through the facade's tubes. The 12,000-square-meter program merges with the garden, incorporating spaces for adult recreation, dining, art, and performance.
Due to its peripheral location adjacent to high-speed roads and tramlines, the building must assert its presence among the numerous commercial billboards of the neighboring shopping centers; consequently, the building itself becomes a colossal totem that houses air and vegetation. Funded entirely through private investment, the project relied heavily on local labor and talent, reflecting a commitment to economic responsibility toward this small city, which was heavily impacted by the previous financial crisis.
Architecture, communication, and nature overlap, bringing character and habitability to a previously inhospitable and impersonal area of the city, and creating an urban oasis with a controlled climate open to all citizens.
Architecture and Interior Design: Clavel Arquitectos
Photography: David Frutos (BIS images)
Video: Gonzalo Ballester
This article was written by Fabian Dejtiar. The translation is powered by AI.
