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COMMERCIAL. SURRY HILLS

Sense of Self bathhouse, Surry Hills.

The largest bathhouse in the Southern Hemisphere. Hot mineral pools and cold plunges inside a converted warehouse, opened in 2026.

Location
Surry Hills, NSW
Type
Commercial. Bathhouse
Scope
Hot mineral pools, cold plunges
Completed
2026

Sense of Self is the largest bathhouse in the Southern Hemisphere, set inside the old Sydney Antiques Centre warehouse at 529 South Dowling Street, Surry Hills. Wright Pools built the bathing pools: the hot mineral pools, the cold plunges and the walk-through cold plunge that runs the length of a brick corridor. The architect was Ritz & Ghougassian, and the bathhouse opened in October 2026.

The warehouse's original concrete columns were kept, and the main hot mineral pool was built around them. The columns stand in the water and split the pool into bays, with low concrete platforms to sit on and steel spouts pouring from the brick walls. The hot pools hold magnesium-based mineral water. A few steps away, the cold plunges drop into a separate run of tiled pools edged with boulders.

A bathhouse is a harder brief than a lap pool. Hot and cold water sit side by side, the shells are built inside an existing building with its structure running through them, and every pool carries a full timetable of bathers from opening day.

Large mineral pool with wall spouts and a warehouse column, Sense of Self, Surry Hills Walk-through cold plunge between brick walls, Sense of Self bathhouse Hot mineral pool running between the original warehouse columns, Sense of Self Bathers on a concrete platform in the large hot mineral pool, Sense of Self Bather beside the wall spouts in the large mineral pool, Sense of Self Bathers above the hot pool and cold plunge, boulders along the edge, Sense of Self Tiled steps into the cold plunge and hot pool, Sense of Self bathhouse

Photography. Martina Gemmola

Film. Sense of Self, Surry Hills

Other Projects

Heart of Willoughby indoor pool by Wright Pools Heart of Willoughby Pathways indoor pool, Lane Cove by Wright Pools Pathways, Lane Cove Platinum Apartments spa by Wright Pools Platinum Apartments

Frequently asked

Commercial bathhouse pool questions.

Who built the pools at Sense of Self in Surry Hills?
Wright Pools built the bathing pools at Sense of Self, 529 South Dowling Street, Surry Hills, the largest bathhouse in the Southern Hemisphere. That covers the hot mineral pools, the cold plunges and the walk-through cold plunge, built inside a converted warehouse designed by Ritz & Ghougassian. The bathhouse opened in October 2026.
Can a pool be built around the existing columns of a building?
Yes, when the pool is engineered with the building from the start. At Sense of Self the warehouse's original concrete columns stand in the main hot mineral pool, so the concrete shell had to be built around them and sealed at each column. The columns now divide the pool into bays.
What does a commercial bathhouse need that a lap pool does not?
Hot pools and cold plunges sit a few metres apart, so each pool runs at its own temperature on its own plant. Every pool also has to meet the public health rules for a commercial spa pool while carrying a full timetable of bathers every day of the week.

Building something like this?

Talk to Wright Pools More Commercial Work Our Process