Urban Exploration - The Sunflower Pool

We received photos from a traveler and compiled them into a historical summary.

This documentary covers an abandoned Tournesol ("Sunflower") swimming pool in Ardèche. It was purchased and subsequently demolished in 2024.

The Tournesol pool is a curious object that younger generations don't necessarily recognize. They wonder: What on earth is this thing? The Tournesol pool concept was born around 1968, following a crushing failure by the French swimming team at the Olympic Games. Humiliated, France realized it lacked enough facilities for regular training. Consequently, a vast program was launched to build roughly 1,000 pools. Given the scale of this ambition, an industrial process was established to replicate a simple architectural design across multiple locations, often on the outskirts of towns. In reality, every secondary town had its own. As a child, I still remember the one in Chartres—I was so cold there that my mother gave up and took us to La Courtille and/or Beaulieu instead.

These pools were built at high speed and were nearly all identical, save for a few minor details like the overall color, the shape of the portholes, or some secondary interior fittings. Since they were industrial products, the architecture was strictly prefabricated. However, difficulties emerged very quickly. By 1977—only five years after the start—the project hit the rocks. Ultimately, only about 250 were built, and today, a staggering number have been demolished.

Despite the technical prowess, production declined—or rather, went into freefall. Several handicaps emerged: first, the pool was undersized, offering a relatively restricted space. Second, the installation was very difficult and/or costly to upgrade. Third, the construction materials—primarily polycarbonate and plastic—aged poorly under the strain of the elements; both intense sunlight and heavy rain led to numerous leaks. Finally, it's worth noting that they were notorious "thermal sieves," which is no longer acceptable in our era. Thus, a few renovation projects have appeared, transforming Tournesol pools into entirely different architectural elements, such as open community spaces (parks, BBQ areas) where the pool is halved and opened up. Others serve as village halls. These renovations are all magnificent but require a significant budget.

A few still exist as renovated swimming pools, notably in Tarbes. In that case, the pool itself was considerably enlarged, and all annexes—the reception, changing rooms, and technical systems—were moved outside the dome. As for our pool, it has been moderately vandalized. We are lucky to be able to document it, as it has clearly been abandoned for a long time. Note that it is very difficult to enter, and I made sure to close it back up behind me.