Baert - Mosaic of the Roubaix Swimming Pool

The Piscine – André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix, located on the site of the former Art Deco swimming pool, was built between 1927 and 1932 according to the plans of the Lille architect Albert Baert (1863-1951). Now listed as a 20th century heritage site, the swimming pool was designed as a sanctuary of hygiene in response to the difficult living conditions of the working population. Reinterpreting the plan of Cistercian abbeys in a neo-Byzantine spirit, the building is organized around a cloistered garden. The large basilica nave of the pool, lit by stained glass windows symbolizing the rising and setting sun, serves as an abbey chapel. Baert borders the large pool with an Art Deco mosaic frieze evoking patterns of broken waves. The color of the glass paste tesserae varies from blue to gold like the reflections of the sun on the water.

© Museum of Art and Industry of Roubaix