The world's first rooftop infinity pool with 360-degree views is set to be built on top of a skyscraper in London

• The world's first rooftop infinity pool with 360-degree views is set to be built in London.
• The proposed Infinity London tower, whose construction could begin in 2020, would be 55 stories tall and adorned with a rooftop infinity pool with transparent sides and a transparent floor.
• Swimmers would enter and exit the pool via "a rotating spiral staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor," the company designing the pool said.
• The pool's designer, Alex Kemsley, explained to INSIDER how this actually works.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Bored of doing lengths in your local swimming pool?

Why not take things up a level — 55 levels, to be precise.

The world's first rooftop infinity pool is set to be built on top of a skyscraper in London, meaning you could enjoy 360-degree views of the capital while working on your breaststroke.

Or, more realistically, posing for pictures.

The proposed Infinity London tower would be 55 stories tall, with a 600,000-liter pool on top.

The pool, designed by Compass Pools, would grace the top of the skyscraper, 200 meters high in the sky — though where exactly the building will be is still to be decided.

The sides of the pool would be made from cast acrylic rather than glass, as the former transmits light at a similar wavelength as water, enabling the pool to look perfectly clear, Compass Pools said on its website.

The floor of the pool would also be clear, meaning swimmers could see and be seen by visitors below.

Read more:A design firm has proposed a cross-shaped pool be built on the rooftop of Notre Dame

The designers are also proposing a built-in anemometer to monitor the wind speed, to make sure the water stays at the right temperature and isn't blown down to the streets.

It's a sustainable plan too, designed to use waste energy from the building's air-conditioning system to heat the pool — and this being London, it'll certainly need to be heated.

As the sun sets, the pool's lights would create "the appearance of a sparkling jewel-topped torch" at night, Compass Pools said.

But one major question most people have is: How on earth do you get in and out of the pool?

"Swimmers will access the pool through a rotating spiral staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor when someone wants to get in or out," Compass Pools said, adding that stairs on the outside of the building were avoided because they would spoil the view.

We asked for more information.

"With regards to the staircase, you have to imagine a tube in a tube," Alex Kemsley, Compass Pools' pool designer and technical director, told INSIDER.

"The first tube is to 'cut a path' through the water and create an airlock. The second to deliver the staircase up to water level.

"It's controlled by a PLC (programmable logic controller) that are used in the industry to automate the process and ensure that all valves and locks can only operate at the right time. The engineering is complex but delivers the seamless look."

The staircase would rise up in one corner of the pool (you can see the outline of a circle in the bottom-right corner of the picture above) from the floor below, which would be used for changing rooms and services.

Read more:The designer of the proposed 360-degree infinity pool in London has explained how you actually get in and out

The top floors of the building are designed to house a five-star hotel, luxury retail, flats, and a spa. The pool would be available to residents and guests of the hotel and spa (not the general public, unfortunately).

Kemsley also said this project is different from previous rooftop pools he's created because the pool isn't an afterthought but the focus.

"Architects often come to us to design rooftop infinity pools, but rarely do we get a say in the building design, because the pool is usually an afterthought," Kemsley said.

"But on this project, we actually started with the pool design and essentially said, 'How do we put a building underneath this?'"

If you're itching to swim along the London skyline, you'll have a bit of a wait: Construction could commence in 2020, provided all the partners and contractors are confirmed, Compass Pools said.

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