Our proposal echoed the now-lost symbiotic relationship of the Portobello power station providing residual heat to the 1930s Lido, by upgrading the existing public toilet block to act as a solar energy hub providing heat and power to a new pool, an income generator to ensure the sustainability of the public facilities. This allows the site to be developed whilst retaining sea views for the houses behind.

Staying true to the spirit of the competition, we kept our ideas and design high-level and sketchy; sadly we weren't selected as winners, but enjoyed the design process and seeing all of the other proposals for the site. Thanks to the team at Community Competitions for all of their hard work and voluntary time making the competition possible.

Our full submission text is below:

'Until the 1980s, the skyline of the west end of Portobello was dominated by a pair of giants; the Portobello Power Station and the Open Air Pool. The symbiotic relationship between these buildings, with waste heat from the power station used to warm the waters of the pool, is reflective of the requirement for complementary civic and productive infrastructure within the competition brief, and our proposal seeks to bring a modern iteration of these relationships back to life.
Fifty years on, the loss of the Open Air Pool is still felt keenly by wild swimmers who enjoy swimming from the beach but are at the mercy of variable water quality, pollution in the Firth of Forth and all that comes with urban sea swimming.
The proposals address these issues through the introduction of a new thirty metre open air pool, with changing facilities contained within the existing toilet block; a safe environment for year-round open air swimming which also acts as a source of revenue to help fund the upkeep of toilet facilities. Energy for water heating is provided by photovoltaic arrays on a new sawtooth roof over the existing toilet space, improving internal lighting conditions and user safety. A new café space, accessible from the Prom,
provides an additional income generator.
Strengthened by this productive infrastructure, the remainder of the site is given over to publicly accessible civic spaces; upgraded toilet facilities within the existing building, amphitheatre seating for public meetings and performances, and a mass-timber tower; a new intervention on the skyline, providing access to an elevated viewing ‘promenade’ overlooking Portobello and the East Lothian coastline.'