I’m the co-founder of (and steering committee member for) 

, a global network supporting a grassroots movement to transform urban waterways. Launched on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympics, we are now a fast-growing alliance of over 125 organisations from 27 countries, representing 72 cities and towns. Together, we’re championing the right to swim, improving climate resilience and celebrating urban swimming culture.

 takes place in June 2025 in partnership with the City of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. There we will bring together some of the world’s leading experts, actors, activists and decision-makers on urban swimming, and see at first hand the transformation of waterways around the Rijnhaven.

Giving greater voice to urban swimmers

Swimmable Cities 

 is an informal network of campaigners across the UK and Ireland which aims to bring the joy of outdoor swimming to more communities by restoring heritage pools and creating new lidos. As co-founder and steering group member, I help to connect government bodies, community groups and other organisations so that we can collaborate, share knowledge and ultimately build more places to swim.

 (of operating and future lidos) shows the rich variety and wide geographic spread of pools within the network, and the sheer vibrancy of the sector. In 2023 – the Year of the Lido – we were awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a major collaborative project: Pooling Resources. As part of this we created the free-to-access Lido Toolkit, which promotes greater understanding of the value of outdoor swim sites and provides expert advice on establishing and running a lido campaign. The work of Future Lidos will be showcased at an event at the Houses of Parliament in June 2025.

 A knowledge-sharing network for outdoor swimming

Future Lidos

Around 1 in 3 adults in the UK cannot swim – either for economic or cultural reasons – and the numbers of non-swimmers are similar among children. Inspired by council-led programmes in New York City in the 1960s and Detroit in the 1980s, Swimmobile is a proposal to engage new audiences with water. Touring community centres, residential areas and parks, loosely following the Thames and London’s lesser-known rivers and waterways, it would literally take the water to the people, via a 40-foot container pool on the back of a truck. A programme of talks and events – curated by the artist and water activist Amy Sharrocks – would accompany Swimmobile’s summer journey, contextualising its aims and widening its scope and impact.

The pool would be filled from urban waterways such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs, the water naturally filtered within the container and kept clean for a number of days. On-board water testing would build up a picture of how the filtration works, and prompt a wider debate about the quality of water within our cities. Perhaps more importantly, it would spark conversations within communities about the factors restricting access to water, and how these might be overcome.

 Bringing the pool to the people

Swimmobile

As a passionate advocate for outdoor swimming, I am often invited to give talks or participate in discussion panels. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), I also teach and carry out design reviews.


Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style, Design Museum, London


On Social Architecture: Swimming Spaces and the City - Design Museum


The Right to Swim: Why all Cities Should be Swimmable

IED Istituto Europeo di Design S.p.A. Milan


Reimagining Darsena di Milano as a swimmable urban place (Teaching workshop)

Integrated Leaders Forum (ILF), RAI Amsterdam


Water in transition: Strategies for sustainable & resilient water solutions


Environment and Resilience: Swimmable Cities Roundtable

(Re)Connecting River and City: The Seine in Paris and the Ile de France, IEA de Paris

Landelijke Zwemwaterdag | National Bathing Water Conference, Bilthoven

Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management, National Institute for Public Health & the Environment, Leisurelands & Province of Zeeland.

USA 'Sea Pools' Book launch, (talk and panel discussion)

Being part of the debate

Public Speaking

Away from its coastline, Australia has surprisingly few swimming places – and opportunities to swim are particularly scarce in less affluent communities. Wanting to start a conversation with local councillors and developers about increasing access to water across the city’s territory, particularly in those neighbourhoods furthest distance from its beaches, Sydney Water commissioned  Studio Octopi to author a technical report illustrating a series of different swimming scenarios. 

The report visualises the potential for swimming in the city’s waterways and develops designs that support 

 programme. In each scenario, I looked at how we could rebalance Sydneysiders’ connections to water in a sustainable way, where possible using simple, recyclable or rentable components, and always taking full advantage of the natural assets available. The findings have been used to inform ongoing discussions since, and I’ve taken part in several of them, giving a talk in Sydney at the 

 in 2023 and a webinar visualising the potential for swimming in 

The project also involved designing a prototype pop-up swim site that could be delivered to neighbourhoods across Sydney where there is either no access to water or no water equity. Using two shipping containers as pools, we tested the pop-up in a car park in the national reserve at Prospect Reservoir.

You can read more about the project and its outputs here: 

Strategies for swim sites in a city’s waterways

Sydney Water

Mary Nicol was bathing pond mistress at Saltcoats for many years. Her daughter Irene Campbell, now MP for Arran and North Ayrshire, shares her mother’s love of the water. During the Covid lockdown she started a campaign with other swimming enthusiasts – the Splash Group – to restore the Saltcoats Bathing Pond. Having seen the work of 

, she approached Studio Octopi to develop a light-touch design that would enable swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders to access the water without excessive cost. We also carried out a wider study of the Saltcoats Harbour area to explore how it could be reconnected with the town and citizens.

Restoration projects like the one at Saltcoats often rely on the time and tireless energy of enthusiastic locals. We were fortunate that Irene was able to give her voice to the campaign, and especially delighted when she used her maiden speech in the House of Commons in November 2024 to highlight the project. She particularly emphasised the importance of the pool to the community and wider constituency, a sentiment we returned to time and time again in our feasibility work.

You can read more about the architecture of the proposed refurbishment here: 

 A light-touch project to reconnect bathers with the water

Saltcoats Bathing Pond

The most pressing challenge for outdoor swimmers is often how to enter and exit the sea safely, particularly on rocky coastlines or those with large tidal variation. North Yorkshire Council and local community groups commissioned Studio Octopi to produce a feasibility study – Safe Sea Swimming – that would address this challenge.

Together we looked at how infrastructure could be provided to allow safe access to the sea in Scarborough at all states of the tide. We considered numerous sites across South Bay and North Bay, finally settling on an area known as Children’s Corner near Scarborough Spa, for which concept proposals have now been developed.

Creating the infrastructure for safer water access

Safe Sea Swimming Scarborough 

Sometimes the best ideas start small. This one began with a tweet and a swim in a Swiss lake. The Royal Academy of Arts and Architecture Foundation put out an open call for ideas exploring how the tidal Thames could be harnessed for a better future; immersed in Lake Zürich. I could think of no better way to use my home city’s greatest natural asset than for swimming. Clearly others agreed, as we soon raised £142,000 for the project on Kickstarter. The idea was for a series of swim sites – some floating – along the riverfront.

Leading the hunt for potential sites and funding partners, I worked with Barking Riverside and Battersea Power Station, and explored other locations along the Thames including Tate Modern and Victoria Embankment. Along the way I developed a strong bank of evidence advocating why such a pool is necessary for London. And gradually the project became the focus of a wider campaign, which is now focused on the non-tidal Thames and the Royal Docks in response to the Mayor of London’s Swimmable Rivers initiative.

Along the way I’ve not only improved my technical know-how but also taken a leadership role, acting as a spokesperson for the scheme and giving evidence to the London Assembly in 2025 in support of its Swimmable Rivers policy work. The 

 project has also led to other floating pool proposals both close to home (Belfast Harbour) and internationally (Yarra Pools in Australia).

You can read more about the project here: 

 Campaigning for swim sites in London’s waterways

Thames Baths

The much-loved complex of seawater pools at Tarlair was among the largest in Scotland when it was completed in the 1930s, offering saltwater swimming on a rocky coastline where access to the water is otherwise difficult. Its art deco tea pavilion is Category A-listed, although both it and the pools fell into disrepair after closing in the 1990s.

I first became involved in the project while at Studio Octopi, when the Friends of Tarlair – the community group formed to rescue the pool – commissioned us to undertake a feasibility study in collaboration with Studio Octopi and a team of specialist consultants. In the study, we looked at the issues, costs and opportunities around restoring the complex, bringing the site back into use for both the community and tourists. The first phase of work – the restoration and extension of the tea pavilion as a community space – was completed in November 2024. The next phase will include the restoration of the pools themselves and the changing rooms, and will be submitted for planning and listed building consent in 2025.

You can read more about the architecture and conservation of the pavilion here: 

Guiding the restoration of a much-loved seawater pool

Tarlair Outdoor Pool 

I especially enjoy working with community groups who share my enthusiasm for outdoor swimming – and collaboration with these groups is a theme that runs throughout my entire portfolio. 

 in Lewes is run by one such group of enthusiasts and, with Studio Octopi, I have worked with them to develop a masterplan that reconsiders the swimming experience and rationalises the existing pavilions.

It’s a special place, being the oldest outdoor freshwater public swimming baths still in operation in the UK. Opened in 1861, the pool is fed by a spring, and the water gradually warmed by the sun throughout the summer. Wanting it to remain at the centre of the community for another hundred years, our emphasis in the proposals is on material reuse and small interventions that will preserve its legacy for many more years to come.

Preserving the legacy of a community pool

Pells Pool

While many of the lidos I have worked on over the years are built on spectacular natural coastlines, the proposed 

 in Dublin’s financial centre has a far more gritty urban setting. Currently there are no public heated outdoor swimming facilities in Dublin and, with the nineteenth-century dock sitting empty and dry for years, campaigners saw an opportunity to create a new swim site. They commissioned Studio Octopi to produce concept designs for this new lido to support a fundraising campaign.

Over the years, other proposals for the reuse of the dock have been and gone, but the current campaign looks wider, tapping into the fact that there is a broad – and chronic – lack of health and community facilities in the neighbourhood. The lido will act as an anchor for the revitalisation of a neglected part of the city centre, introducing additional improvements including a new creche.

 Finding new life for a redundant dock

Dublin City Lido

As a designer, researcher and advocate for swim sites across the world, I connect people to water.

Chris Romer-Lee

I’ve been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. As co-founder of architecture practice Studio Octopi, I developed a portfolio of pools, baths and swim-site strategy alongside projects on dry land. In 2025 I set up my own consultancy, focused on getting more people swimming and improving access to water.

I work with organisations to design and refurbish lidos, baths and bathing places, and have become an expert in urban swimming and tidal pools. My research and writing work demonstrates how such swim sites can become a focus for healthy communities and improved ecologies. Through collaboration with government bodies I also advocate for better access to swim sites of all kinds.

The sea can be challenging and changeable. Protected from the dangers of crashing waves and extreme cold, manmade sea pools provide a safe space for swimmers to enjoy the sea at all states of the tide or weather. My book 

in 2023, grew out of a love for this feeling of security in nature – and the spectacular design and engineering of the pools. In it, I select 66 of the most beautiful and culturally significant tidal pools in the world, looking at their architecture in the context of the resurgence of interest in outdoor swimming.

The book has won several awards including:

Architectural Book Awards (ABA) 2024, joint winner in Monograph category

International Creative Media Awards 2024, award of excellence in Photobooks Travel category

British Book Design and Production Awards 2024, finalist in the Art/Architecture Monograph category

The culture and beauty of ocean swim sites

Sea Pools: 66 saltwater sanctuaries from around the world 

 is an informal network of projects across the UK and Ireland which aims to bring the joy of outdoor swimming to more communities by restoring heritage pools and creating new lidos. In 2023 – the Year of the Lido – we were awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a major collaborative project: Pooling Resources. As part of this we created the free-to-access Lido Toolkit, which promotes greater understanding of the value of outdoor swim sites.

As co-founder and steering group member, I researched and authored the design section of the toolkit, which offers an overview of design practice across this fast-moving sector. The work of Future Lidos will be showcased at an event at the Houses of Parliament in June 2025.

 A toolkit for rebuilding community pools 

If swimming pools are palaces of joy, then diving boards provide the stage for all kinds of fun and performance. They also offer creative opportunity – for expressive, inventive design and new feats of engineering. My book 

, due to be published by Batsford in April 2027, is a personal journey to uncover more about these structures that decorate pools and swim sites all over the world.

In it, I dip into the rich heritage of early diving competitions in northern Europe, how these started as ‘fancy diving’ championships and ultimately an international Olympic sport. And I look at how, as the sport developed from humble beginnings into regulated competition, the design of the platforms has evolved too, whether poolside or at new heights as a new generation of athletes embrace cliff diving.