# 09. Stavanger Swimming Pool

*A Dive into Brutalist Architecture: The Stavanger Swimming Hall*

By [Artem Galimzyanov](https://paragraph.com/@artem-galimzyanov) · 2026-01-23

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The statue of another "**Broken Column Man**" is located in the Stavanger swimming hall. He stands on the tribune, watching as children and adults swim below.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/af15295a7285b24c0e633684d97d222490908bfa01c784c61afea66e8a8275f9.jpg)

In Norway, swimming is an essential skill; every child learns to swim at an early age. This swimming pool is open for public. Its usually packed by adults, but sometimes children practice dive into the water.

The swimming hall itself is an enormous, concrete grey building that was constructed in 1971. It serves as a [striking example](https://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/15892185) of brutalist architecture from the postmodern era designed by Gert Walter Thuesen and Jacob Grytten.

Surprisingly, this building closely resembles another structure in France: the Monastery [Convent Sainte-Marie de La Tourette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte_Marie_de_La_Tourette).

To see this statue, grab your swimwear and dive into the water!

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*Originally published on [Artem Galimzyanov](https://paragraph.com/@artem-galimzyanov/09-stavanger-swimming-pool)*