Inside Story: From Factory to Level 4
Installing a swimming pool in a backyard is one thing.
Installing an 8-metre-long swimming pool four levels above ground is quite another.
At D'IMMERSIONE @ Mont Kiara, a custom-designed Hydro One® swimming pool was planned as part of the development's Level 4 facilities environment.
What made this project particularly interesting was not simply the pool itself. It was how the pool had to be designed, fabricated, transported and eventually placed into the building.
This is the story behind the installation.
A Different Kind of Swimming Pool Installation
The project called for a Hydro One® prefabricated composite pool with Graphite-series finishing, measuring 8m × 4m with approximately 1.2m water depth.
Unlike a conventional reinforced-concrete swimming pool that is constructed substantially on site, this pool was designed as a prefabricated composite structure - a category often generically referred to by the public as a "fiberglass pool". Hydro One® pools, however, go beyond a conventional fiberglass shell. Our Thermo-composite construction combines marine-grade fiberglass with selected premium composite materials to achieve a higher standard of structural durability, finishing quality and design refinement.
The pool structure was substantially completed and tested at our factory before it ever reached the project site.
For this Level 4 application, that provided several important advantages. The seamless pool finish created a different aesthetic character from the conventional tiled swimming-pool treatment elsewhere within the development. Prefabrication also meant less wet pool-construction work needed to take place on the elevated facilities floor, while reducing the number of site-built waterproofing interfaces traditionally involved in constructing the pool shell itself.
For a project where the pool sits above an existing building slab, these considerations become particularly relevant.
Designed at the Factory - Not Improvised at Site
Prefabricated does not have to mean off-the-shelf.
One of Hydro One®'s core approaches is to adapt the pool around the requirements of the project where practical.
For D'IMMERSIONE, the specified custom pool design remained at 8m × 4m, but one important detail was refined during production: the underwater lighting had to sit fully flush with the internal pool wall. Instead of modifying the pool after delivery, the necessary recess was incorporated during production.
This is an important distinction in custom swimming-pool design. The more requirements that can be resolved before delivery, the fewer compromises have to be made once the pool reaches a constrained construction site.
What Supports a Prefabricated Pool Above Ground?
One feature visitors will eventually never see is one of the most important parts of this installation.
The pool incorporates its own engineered supporting structure made from mild-steel hollow sections.
Rather than relying only on conventional surface paint or coating for corrosion protection, Hydro One®'s system encapsulates the supporting steel within fiberglass as part of its long-term corrosion-protection approach.
The supporting members and bracing are designed so the pool structure can be supported independently at its installation position. The surrounding architectural deck and finishes can then be constructed around the pool.
This type of approach can become especially relevant for elevated pool decks, rooftops, podium facilities, difficult-access properties and sites where substantial conventional pool construction is undesirable.
From Factory to D'IMMERSIONE
Once fabrication was completed, the next challenge was getting a very large, substantially finished pool from Hydro One® to the project safely.
A prefabricated pool changes where much of the work happens. Instead of building the entire pool shell on the Level 4 slab, fabrication happens under controlled conditions before transportation.
Once it arrives, the focus shifts from construction to placement, foundation preparation and connection.
At D'IMMERSIONE, the remaining works included preparing the required sand-bed foundation and subsequently connecting the pre-installed pool piping to the associated pool equipment.
The Installation Had One Major Constraint: Time
This is where the project became particularly demanding.
A mobile crane did not have sufficient reach to place the pool at its Level 4 destination. The installation therefore depended on the project's tower crane.
There was another complication. The tower crane was approaching the end of its role on the project and was scheduled to begin dismantling at 12:00 noon on the same day.
Hydro One® began the operation at approximately 8:00am, with the tower crane scheduled for dismantling at 12:00 noon - leaving a four-hour window to complete everything.
Production could not be late. Transportation could not be late. The pool had to arrive ready. And the lifting operation had to be coordinated accurately with the site team.
In practice, the team completed the sequence from unloading and preparation through to final alignment and positioning in approximately three hours. During that time, an 8m × 4m swimming pool was moved beside the completed building façade while teams on different levels coordinated every stage of its placement.
Lifting a Swimming Pool Four Levels Above Ground
Once airborne, the operation became one of control rather than speed.
The pool had to remain balanced on its lifting slings. Adequate clearance had to be maintained from the building. The tower-crane operator and installation teams had to continuously coordinate the position of the pool.
At Level 4, a dedicated RC opening was prepared to receive the pool, with the required installation clearance planned and verified before lifting began.
There was enough room to install the pool - but not enough room for careless positioning.
This is where the benefits of planning everything earlier - dimensions, production, transport, supporting structure and receiving opening - became evident.
And Then - It Was In
Eventually the pool cleared the structure, reached its Level 4 destination and was lowered into the prepared area.
For the Hydro One® team, the moment represented more than completing a crane lift.
It was the point where design coordination, factory production, logistics and installation finally came together.
What had originally existed as a pool on architectural drawings had become a physical part of the building.
Why Prefabricated Swimming Pools Can Make Sense for Challenging Sites
Not every project requires the same swimming-pool construction method.
A conventional reinforced-concrete pool remains appropriate for many applications. But sites involving elevated slabs, restricted construction areas, renovation conditions or difficult access can require a different approach.
A prefabricated composite pool system such as Hydro One® can offer several practical advantages for the right project conditions:
- More work completed off-site - the pool shell can be substantially fabricated before delivery.
- Less wet pool construction on site - particularly relevant where construction space or access is restricted.
- A seamless internal pool finish - creating an alternative aesthetic to conventional tiled pools.
- Greater control over custom production details - certain project-specific requirements can be resolved during fabrication.
- A different approach to difficult installation conditions - the pool can be treated as an integrated manufactured system rather than relying entirely on building the pool shell in situ.
The right solution, however, should always begin with the site.
Loading, access, dimensions, building structure, M&E requirements and installation methodology need to be evaluated before a pool system is selected.
From a Drawing to Part of the Building
D'IMMERSIONE remains a work in progress, and the surrounding Level 4 facilities will continue taking shape around the pool.
So this is not yet the finished-project reveal. It is one milestone in a much larger process.
But for Hydro One®, it demonstrates something important:
A swimming pool should not always dictate the architecture around it.
With the right planning, fabrication and coordination, the pool itself can be designed around the architecture.
And sometimes that means taking a swimming pool from a factory floor... to four floors above ground.
Call to Action
📩 Planning a swimming pool for an elevated deck, rooftop, constrained space or unconventional site?
Talk to the Hydro One® team early in your planning process. Share your layout, site conditions or architectural drawings with us and we can help explore the pool solution that fits your project.
📞 +6019 - 218 3935
📲 WhatsApp: https://wa.link/x5a941
🌐 www.hydro1.com.my
