Japanese studio Kengo Kuma and Associates is working on an aquatics center on Copenhagen‘s harbor, including indoor pools built by brick pyramids and outside bathrooms that patio down to meet the sea.

The glistening base of the 5,000-square-metre building will yield indoor bathers panoramic views from the harbor, even though a series of tapered brick types above will partly protect smaller pools by the components. The building will also incorporate a fitness center and facilities for sports associations.

“[The] waterfront has become the foreground and the background for major cultural facilities and the quality open public region which defines the urban life in the city,” said a statement by the project’s lead architect Yuki Ikeguchi.

“Our focus on style is to create an experience, rather than merely a standalone thing, in the kind of the landscape, art, and architecture which are merged and characterized by the water.”

The pyramidal forms will be made of earthen-toned bricks. Some will comprise triangular openings inside their bases to enable the components in, while others will be entirely enclosed and topped by skylights.

This fragmented roof type responds to the design of COBE’s adjacent construction, a run of pitched-roof halls which will be used to sponsor events including fashion shows and street-food markets.

“Its architectural type, at a collection of pyramid shapes, is in reaction to this masterplan principle to work with the roofing profile of Christiansholm but in the same time it expresses its distinctive individuality,” explained Ikeguchi.

“What is different from the rest of the masterplan building is that the structure does not have one entrance, but it’s multi-directional to be easily recognized and reachable from several instructions,” she continued.

Decking will extend from the smooth base of a structure, stepping down to the surface of the water and also to providing access to the outdoor baths.

The firm was in the news recently with several significant projects, such as the V&A Museum of Design Dundee in Scotland, which is nearing completion, and the construction of its stadium for its Tokyo 2020 Olympics.