Piscine des Amiraux

The Piscine des Amiraux is a public swimming pool in Paris, designed by architect Henri Sauvage. It stands in Clignancourt, within Paris’s eighteenth arrondissement.

The pool occupies the central courtyard of a residential building created for affordable, hygienic housing. The building presents stepped terraces and individual balconies. Reinforced concrete and white ceramic tiles give the structure a material identity that connects architecture with hygiene. Its Art Deco character remains visible across the residential frontage.

The stepped design gives each apartment a balcony, linking private homes with the building’s strong geometric profile. The courtyard first carried plans for a cinema. Instead, it became a public pool with a distinctive system of numbered cabins for storing personal belongings. The basin has a long, narrow rectangular form.

The pool and building received historical-monument classification, and restoration later addressed the facades and swimming area. The restored setting preserves several original architectural details. The Piscine des Amiraux also gained public recognition through its appearance in the film Amélie. Its story joins housing, swimming, concrete, tile, and Parisian cinema.