Segi Pool: A misstep in design?

By: Sharene

To swim or not to swim? That is the question. Here at Segi University (Kota Damansara campus), our Olympic sized pool is pretty hard to miss.

The pool lies centred at the end of the courtyard opposite the dictor stage, measuring 35mx20m, with a depth of 1.4m.  

Yet as we walk by the pool daily we can’t help but notice a distinct lack of swimmers in said pool, so we went to investigate. Why is a cool pool in a hot humid country not very popular, especially when it’s located on your campus and for some even next to their hostel? We interviewed Segi students to find out the truth behind this mystery.

The data we received was shocking, 70% of students that were interviewed stated that they had never used the pool. One student, Pratheebhan Saravanal, didn’t even know it was open to students. Furthermore, 40% thought it was for decoration and not actually for swimming purposes when they first saw it.

Additions…or rather a lack of them

Yes it’s a hot country, and what can we do to cool off when the sun is scorching? Not swim according to Vivian Hong Poh Ling, there needs to be some kind of, “shaded area because it’s kinda hot”.

Many students wouldn’t mind swimming at night if it was more close to their residence. However some students live close by or in the hostel on the campus. But they’re not so keen of swimming at night. The fact that there’s no sun, and no audience makes it very appealing, however the lack of lighting fills them with doubts. “I wish to swim at night but I couldn’t because I stay in Kepong and need to travel...” Vivian Hong Poh Ling imparts but she claims if she could then it “needs lights lah”. We asked Koh Ong Heng how he felt about swimming at night, “Swimming at night is cool… there’s no sun yes, but, there should be more light outside the swimming pool.”

Location, location, location

The majority of students were not thrilled at the location of the pool claiming it was too public. Zameen Zhou Datta comments, “It’s right in the open so people are too shy to go in most of the time…more practical it should be behind the hostel or something”. “It’s not really strategic…it would be better if they had it inside," Joy Verani affirms, “... one time I nearly tripped into the swimming pool, it was slippery…I almost tripped luckily my friend grabbed me or I’d be already in the pool… The pool is not very strategic, it’s nearby the auditorium where we take our exams …some people might trip, most do!” she adds.

Vivian Hong Poh Ling would prefer to move the pool the basement, “The basement…I kinda don’t like sun… so better shaded area… or they can put something over like cover up, to protect from the sun lah, “.

But not everyone wanted to relocate, “the placement is a nice place… everyone can see it so everyone can go… it’s a good thing, the place is big, looks like the place has some kind of class” Kalvinder Singh shares his views with us.

Peace of mind

When asking a mixture of female & male students, 80% stated that they would prefer a separate covered pool for their gender.  For some religion was at play, taking into consideration Muslim students. But for the 70% who were not of the Muslim faith, they still insisted that they would prefer a more comfortable setting around their own gender with privacy. Students often go through insecurities, body image concerns, and for these reasons some do not want to display their bodies openly for the whole campus to see. Pratheebhan Saravanal shares “ the pool is actually in a bad place…for me right, I’m actually very shy because I have a pot belly” however he would swim in a private male pool if there was one available.

Incentives

A pool is a place of enjoyment, exercise even social gatherings. But when it lacks in proper facilities, it takes the desire right out of you.  However there are a few incentives that would motivate our Segians to take a dip. For hygiene purposes students would like to see showers, so people can clean up before they enter and also have somewhere to remove all that chlorine when they’re done. “shower is a must,” exclaims Pratheebhan Saravanal. Kalvinder Singh agrees, “they should place a shower around the swimming pool because we need it, we have to take our shower… all that chlorine.”

Changing rooms and lockers are very important to our Segians. “There are toilets around but it’s not comfortable and if you want to swim you have to keep things outside around the swimming pool, it’s very dangerous… people can just take you know,” Kalvinder Singh states. Privacy and security are clearly lacking at our pool. Changing in the toilets isn’t very comfortable for our students. They would prefer having a clean place to go to where they can have peace of mind over their belongings. Koh Ong Heng agrees and states that it would help and he wouldn’t be worried or concerned anymore, “I can change easily I can put my stuff more securely”.  At the moment he puts his stuff, “nearby the swimming pool where I can see …sometimes we tend to swim too far or play until too fun we forget to watch our things.”

Design 101

The waterfalls were a slight hit but the depth and shape were a big miss. “I would like it better if there’s like slanting a bit, so there’s one deep part ,one shallow part because then so everyone can have a chance to swim”, Zameen Zhou Datta expresses.

“It’s not really that attractive compared to the hotel pools or something….it doesn’t have any unique shapes…I would make it look like the hotel pool you know very nice with the glass at the side,” Joy Verani shares with us.

“It’s lame…if I were to design a pool it would be oval in shape….a bit deeper because they’re not small kids here….a board would be nice but I don’t know if Segi can make that,” Preatheebhan Saravanal conveys.

When asking Koh Ong Heng how attractive our pool his response was, “Not really attractive there still could be improvement, like there should be some place with certain depths, because now the swimming pool is all the the same level.” If he could design a new pool he would make it abstract, “a part of it is round and part of it is long… the deepest I think we should put around 2m and the normal one we should put around 1.5-1.7m”.

Other students were thinking far ahead, “I think it would be like a jacuzzi with bubbles and the hot water… it would be more cool… people would appreciate it more,” Kalvinder Singh shares his pool vision with us.

For now, the popularity of the pool remains reduced largely due to its design flaws. As we can see from our responses, students need more, even the basics would suffice. Our pool is just a pool, but we demand more character, more flair, and more options, bring on the trimmings. Three things which are a must for students are; security, hygiene and privacy. If Segi can resolve these three issues, most students would be motivated to swim and make use of the available pool facilities. Who knows, maybe in 2020 we may even have our own swimming club, if Segi goes back to the drawing board and comew up with something that will inspire all of us! Fingers crossed!