A Malaysian-British property joint venture first floated the idea to build the world’s first swimming pool spanning two London residential blocks several years ago.

The reaction among the local media fraternity was: “Sure! Sure! Will see it to believe it.” The idea then – and now – seemed so preposterous and gravity-defying.

That seemingly-preposterous idea has now become a reality.

Located 10 storeys above the ground, the 25m-long Sky Pool is a dizzying sight – both for those looking up and those looking down — with the surrounding landscape visible through the structure of the 3m-deep pool itself.

It forms part of Embassy Gardens, a project by EcoWorld International and the Ballymore Group. EcoWorld International is a separate listed entity from EcoWorld Malaysia.

The gravity-defying Sky Pool, containing 375 tonnes of water in a rectangular acrylic aquarium, has cast a spotlight on HAL Architects, who designed the pool in partnership with engineering and fabrication specialists.

However, London’s most famous swimming pool has also sparked a controversy that has ventured into the political, economic and social arena.

Aydin Dikerdem, the Labour councillor in Wandsworth, where the project is located, wrote that the Sky Pool has “sparked both fascination and fury”.

Fascination because the sight of the pool is amazing. Fury because the idea is only possible with money and only the moneyed can access the Sky Pool.

Engineering ingenuity and chutzpah may not be enough. The Sky Pool has also crystallised the line between the haves and have-nots. It flaunts wealth and money.

According to EcoWorld International, there are 747 private residential units and 163 affordable units in Embassy Gardens’ second phase of the project.

Embassy Gardens has a 15-acre footprint. On completion, there will be some 2,000 residences.

Ballymore developed phase one by themselves. EcoWorld International subsequently entered into a joint venture with the British developer.

The Sky Pool has sparked controversy because the affordable housing residents within the development have no access to the pool.

There are different types of affordable housing in Britain and occupiers of these units may not necessarily be poor.

Unlike in Malaysia where ownership of affordable housing is based on income, or who one knows, in Britain, it is based on the occupational needs of an area.

The 163 affordable housing units in Embassy Gardens are based on a “shared ownership” system.

In a statutory sense, the so-called “affordable housing units” are for those looking to become owners by part-buying a quarter of the property.

They move towards full ownership via a combined mortgage and rental plan, Dikerdem wrote in socialist magazine Tribune. “This means they don’t get access to things like gyms, conference rooms, or indeed the Sky Pool,” he wrote.

The Sky Pool, the symbol of what money can bring, underscores the debate on inequality, a hot-button issue in the West even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those who occupy the “shared ownership” units, as opposed to the market rate private residences, are by no means poor but even their access to their own units are via the so-called “poor door”. Those who pay market rates enter via the “rich door”.

So there are literally two sets of doors, the “rich door”, a hotel-like lobby entrance and the “poor door” that has none of the trappings. The social implication is that it divides the community.

Embassy Gardens, located south of the Thames, is part of a vast regeneration project where some of the most modern and prohibitively priced residences are being developed today.

According to the Embassy Gardens website, the two-bedroom units are currently priced at above one million pound sterling each (about RM5.7 million).

Embassy Gardens is also within walking distance of another Malaysian project, Battersea Power Station, which is also a high-end development.

In Battersea Power Station’s case, the affordable units are located about 1km away from the actual 40-acre site.