Club Natació Barcelona: the secret of timeless pool design
In the amazing Sant Sebastià Beach area, you’ll discover a remarkable piece of Spain’s aquatic history: the home of Club Natació Barcelona (CNB)
CNB first took to the water in its idyllic Barcelona location around the turn of the last century, and its story is one of lasting success and passion for the pool.
The pool itself is also a success story, built from quality materials, perfectly installed, and meticulously maintained. But those aspects alone don’t tell the full story.
This outdoor facility operates 365 days a year and has withstood both the elements and the high-salinity seawater that fills it for more than two decades.
The CNB pool - a Myrtha RenovAction project dating back to 1999 - remains a timeless jewel in Barcelona’s aquatic landscape.
One club, many stories Founded in 1907, Club Natació Barcelona has enjoyed a rich history of success.
In 1908, CNB hosted Spain’s first-ever water polo match, and the club went on to inspire the creation of both the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Spanish and Catalan Swimming Federations.
Over the decades, CNB has produced an extraordinary 160 Olympic athletes, including water polo legend Manuel Estiarte, who was named World’s Best Player seven times.
The club fields teams in swimming, water polo, diving, high diving, and artistic swimming, competing across all categories.
With a history deeply intertwined with national and international aquatics, it’s no surprise that CNB operates in some of the most remarkable aquatic venues.
In 2003, Myrtha Pools designed the club’s Nova Escullera (“New Breakwater Pool”), which hosted the water polo competitions of the 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships.
Thanks to its two movable bulkheads and adjustable-depth floor — still in perfect working order today — this Olympic-size pool can easily be divided into zones to accommodate different training and competition needs.
The pool that withstands: even before the Nova Escullera project, Spain’s top aquatics club and the world’s leading pool manufacturer shared a history of collaboration.
In 1999, Myrtha Pools rebuilt CNB’s extraordinary but challenging outdoor “Piscina Salada”, located near Sant Sebastià Beach.
This Myrtha RenovAction project replaced an aging concrete structure that had deteriorated under Mediterranean conditions and was beyond repair.
Because the pool is used year-round, the challenge was to create a durable, sustainable structure that could withstand both Barcelona’s seaside climate and the high-salt-content seawater used to fill it.
In a typical saltwater pool, where salt substitutes for chlorine, the concentration is about 5 grams per litre.
In CNB’s Mediterranean pool, however, the salt level reaches a challenging 35 grams per litre.
At such high levels, concrete and welded steel pools are highly susceptible to corrosion.
Even at lower concentrations, concrete ages poorly, often cracking and failing over time, while welded steel pools struggle with thermal expansion caused by daily temperature variations.
Myrtha’s RenovAction solution, built from non-welded stainless-steel components, solved all these issues.
More than 20 years later, the pool remains a community favourite, a testament to Myrtha’s innovation and CNB’s enduring legacy on the Mediterranean shore.
