We were there - Porto

Three years ago we visited Leça Swimming Pools by Alvaro Siza, north of Porto, Portugal.
Porto is a fantastic place to go for architectural visits (go if you haven't been!)
The pools were finished in 1966, but they have aged gracefully and do not feel decayed, despite the Atlantic oceans tough treatment.
The area is completely sunken down, out of view of the cityscape on the side and disconnected from the city, melting into the ocean as apart of it.
You are lead as in procession through the changing rooms, via a ramp down towards the ocean.
The pools are molded into the the cliffs with concrete of the same color as the stone, mixed with the natural water gatherings of the ocean side, it is sensational place.
I would love to revisit in the summer, it was early spring when we were there.

Photo credits: Camilla Levin

Photo credits: Camilla Levin

Photo credits: Camilla Levin

Short film by Mark Tipple

When photographer Mark Tipple filmed the ocean and the ocean wasn't so nice anymore...

The ocean by Mark Tipple

I have an obsession with the ocean, it draws me and scares me. It puts me in awe and invites.
So amazing and sometimes not at all inviting.
Powerful and forceful, pure energy of mass moving...
All of these photos are taken under water by Mark Tipple. Wow.

Seascape [Cloudy]

'Seascape [Cloudy]', Gerhard Richter, 1969

Isle of the dead, Arnold Böcklin

Isle of the dead (first version), Arnold Böcklin, 1880