Wellness space is at a premium in any modern day city and Studio Octopi, a London based architecture firm, is diving head first into making more of that by using London's Thames as an area for new development.

The London As It Could Be Now competition, run by the Royal Academy of Arts in conjunction with the Architecture Foundation and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, asked multidisciplinary design teams to envisage new ideas for potential sites along the Thames, reflecting relevant social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions and concerns.

Studio Octopi suggested creating pools at Blackfriars Bridge in central London and the King Edward Memorial Park in Shadwell, East London, with plans for two fixed pools, extending to a height just below the high water mark and part of the structure rising and falling with the tide.

Chris Romer-Lee, director of Studio Octopi, took his inspiration from Lake Zurich, Switzerland, which functions as a major hub in the city centre and is available to swim in all year round.

“There are not enough of these kind of spaces in our cities," he said. "This vision is bold, but ultimately buildable.” As Thames Water have announced improvements to London’s sewer system over the next ten years and aim to vastly improve the Thames’ water quality, more riverside projects could be making significant waves in the future.

For more on Chris Romer-Lee and Studio Octopi, the Q2 edition of Leisure Management is available here