Swimming facility De Geusselt, Maastricht

- Size
- ca. 10.200 m² GFA
- Commission
- Integrated design
- Duration
- June 2008 - April 2013
- Budget
- ca. € 24.000.000
The multifunctional swimming pool and club accommodation De Geusselt Maastricht is the beating heart of the Geusseltpark in Maastricht, which is yet to be developed. The park links up a number of public functions in an inviting sloping landscape with relaxed recreational elements.
The sports complex that is yet to be built creates and enhances this image; situated on a hill, the complex connects the adjacent sports park with the green fields of the park both programmatically as well as spatially.

A durable ceramic front that fits in with the ceramic history of the city of Maastricht and the compound wood/aluminium curtain walls give the building its natural character. The relief of the tinted front with the large grass areas incorporated in it and the moulded volume create an exciting monolithic statue, which gives the sports complex, on the same level as the Geusseltpark, a pavilion-like character by carefully fitting the building mass on, and in, the hill that is yet to be laid out.

The sunbathing area has been bordered in the direction of the park in a very subtle way by making clever use of a difference in height, which has preserved the spaciousness of the area. Passers-by and visitors enter the entrances through access routes. Various additional entrance ways support the diversity of the various functions, with one main entrance near the entrance of the swimming pool.

The covered swimming pool accommodation has been used as a starting point for the set-up of the complex. Building the pools next to each other optimises their (multifunctional) use. Along the pools, we have the required facilities: the entrance, changing rooms and drinking and dining establishments. This programmatic stratification links up the recreational pool, the drinking and dining establishments and the entrance. The swimming baths with outside pool (equipped with a 3-metre diving board), the competition pool with 200+ seating capacity in the stands and a more introvert multipurpose pool have a combined inner water surface of 1,400 m².
The building also houses a club accommodation of 2,200 m² for four sports clubs under one roof (1x hockey, 2x football, 1x boule). This combination of functions and activities make the building a unique and dazzling accommodation for day and night use. Because the changing rooms and club rooms are located under the swimming pool complex, there is a wonderful and functional connection with the nearby sports fields on ground level. This gives the club accommodation its own character and ensures that the compact and sculptural volume remains intact on building level.


The needs and wishes of the clubs and other users have been incorporated in the total vision and the appearance of the building, since the users chose to have the identity of their club/association fit in with the style and identity of the building. The functional lay-out and routing enables users to share several central functions, but also enables them to retire to their own club room and focus on their club activities.
The hockey club has its own canteen on the first floor with a terrace overlooking the hockey fields. The football clubs and boule club have their own club room and a meeting room for the committee on ground level. All changing facilities have been arranged in accordance with the wishes of the clubs and have a routing that facilitates dual use. The club building has been fully designed according to the standards of the soccer and hockey league.

We strove to create a refined and meticulously designed volume on all scale levels, despite the scale of the programme. This building aims at a durable design on all levels; its natural incorporation in the landscape, optimal accessibility, user’s comfort and functional exploitation.
The building is extremely durable and uses 1/3 of the energy that a similar building does since a number of measures have been taken to reduce the energy consumption and because a building insulation of R-value 8.0 has been used. The building is 100% carbon neutral and ties in with the cradle to cradle principles to a larger extent. The high level of aspiration for durability has brought about unique solutions with regard to the used materials: concrete, the timber frame construction elements, use of triple glazing, use of geothermal energy and more.