Folkform’s Public Art Installation for Indoor Swimming Pool in Spånga, Sweden.

The Stockholm-based design studio Folkform has completed a permanent installation for the public indoor swimming pool in Spånga, outside of Stockholm. Running along the short end of the pool, the mural features a decorative composition crafted from ceramic tiles and old vintage glass. The wall comprises over 1,000 individual glass and ceramic pieces and the design is inspired by the town plan of Spånga as seen from above.

“As the local community come to swim, we wanted the artwork to remind them of the built environment outside of the pool,” explain the designers. “The pattern of the mural is an abstracted visualisation of the suburb’s city plan as seen from above. The composition is reminiscent of a topographical map with its town square, a tree-lined avenue, the train track and train station, all represented in different materials.”

In the mural, Folkform explored materials via the visual play of tension between new and old surfaces. Instead of manufacturing all new materials for the project, the glass represents a creative practice of reuse and the tiles and bricks are an instance of employing industrial ready-mades.

Ultimately, Folkform’s installation utilises old ornamented vintage glass and new pressed glass prisms that were going to be discarded, bringing them back to life.

Related: Game of Tennis In An Abandoned Swimming Pool Captured by Joseph Ford.

[Images courtesy of Folkform.]