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Pools & Aquatic Centres

Where the air eats hardware.

Entrance control for swimming pools, spas and water parks — chlorine on one side, a legal bather limit on the other, and visitors who carry nothing but a wristband.

What we solve Talk to us
The Challenges

Why pool entrances fail before anything else does.

An aquatic centre is the harshest environment in this sector, and the one where the entrance carries the most legal weight.

01

Chlorine does not stop at the pool hall

Chloramine vapour travels through the whole building and settles on every surface. Hardware specified for an office lobby survives about two seasons; the failure appears first on hinges, fixings and anything plated rather than solid.

02

Nobody is carrying a phone

Wet, barefoot, in a swimsuit, holding a towel. No pocket, no wallet, no phone. A credential that assumes a smartphone in the hand is a credential that will not be used on the wet side.

03

The bather limit is not a guideline

Maximum bather load is set by regulation and by your insurer. Knowing the number inside at any moment is not an operational nicety — it is the difference between compliance and a closed pool.

04

Two hours, sold and unpoliced

Timed sessions only work if the clock is enforced at the exit. Enforced by staff, it becomes an argument at the desk. Unenforced, the capacity you sold twice is occupied once.

05

Families do not arrive single file

Prams, floats, kit bags, three children and a grandparent. A 600 mm lane designed for a commuter turns a family arrival into a queue, and turns the accessible lane into the only usable one.

06

Evacuation, barefoot

Everywhere else, a locked exit is a serious failure. Here the people leaving are unshod, half-dressed and moving on wet tile. Whatever else the entrance does, it has to disappear.

The Response

Four things that have to be right on the wet side.

Image — generate
AQ-01 · CORROSION / 5:4 landscape Close macro photograph of the upper corner of a swing barrier housing in electroplated stainless steel, photographed in a humid pool hall. The metal surface is beaded with fine condensation droplets that catch the light as tiny highlights; the finish beneath is flawless and mirror-clean with no staining, pitting or fingerprint residue. A clear glass arm edge enters the frame at an angle, also beaded with moisture. Behind, the pool hall falls entirely out of focus into soft aqua light and pale tile, with a faint humid haze. Shot at 85mm macro perspective, extremely shallow depth of field, soft diffuse daylight from a glazed wall to the left. Cool palette of steel, water and aqua reflection. Precise, clean, resilient — the image should communicate that moisture is sitting on the surface and not attacking it. No people, no text, no logos.
01 — Specification

Chosen for the atmosphere, not the lobby

The KSB1518 is rated by the manufacturer for indoor and outdoor duty, in electroplated stainless steel with an anti-fingerprint treatment. Operating range is −20 °C to 60 °C, with a mean cycle count above five million passages. Figures as published by the manufacturer, September 2025.

That specification is the whole argument. Everything else on this page assumes the hardware is still there in year five.

Image — generate
AQ-02 · WRISTBAND / 5:4 landscape Close product photograph of a wet hand and forearm presenting a silicone RFID wristband to a reader panel set into the stainless steel body of a barrier at a swimming pool. Water droplets sit on the skin and on the wristband; the reader's small window emits a faint glow and a soft green indicator is lit just above it. Only the hand and lower forearm are visible, cropped at the frame edge, softly out of focus at the wrist. The background is a bright, humid pool hall entirely out of focus, in pale tile and aqua light. Shot at 85mm macro perspective, very shallow depth of field with only the reader and wristband critically sharp. Diffuse daylight with the green indicator as the single accent. Effortless, practical, clean. No readable text, no logos, no branding, no face.
02 — Credential

The wristband is the answer

Readers accept 13.56 MHz RFID and NFC at a range of 0 to 10 centimetres, with a read time under 0.2 seconds, as published by the manufacturer, September 2025. A silicone wristband is waterproof, worn rather than carried, and survives being handed to a six-year-old.

At the dry entrance the same lane still reads QR codes from a screen or from paper, so online booking and walk-up tickets work without a second device.

Image — generate
AQ-03 · OCCUPANCY / 5:4 landscape Architectural photograph looking back across a pool hall entrance from inside the wet side, showing a row of three barriers as both an entry and an exit route. Two lanes are configured inward and one outward, indicated only by small green and amber arrow lights on the housings. Visitors move in both directions rendered as soft motion blur, so the two-way flow is legible but no individual is. The hall is bright and humid: pale tile with a wet sheen, water reflections dancing on a white ceiling, a glazed wall beyond. Wide shot, camera at chest height, 28mm lens perspective, diffuse daylight, cool palette with aqua reflections. The image should read as counted, orderly two-way movement. No text, no logos, no signage, no numbers, no faces toward camera.
03 — Capacity

Counted in, counted out

Every barrier in the range is bi-directional, so an exit is a recorded event rather than an absence. Live occupancy is simply entries minus exits, held at the gate and reconciled centrally.

Set a maximum bather load and the lane can hold new entries at the threshold instead of asking a lifeguard to estimate. When the network drops, the count continues locally and buffers until the connection returns.

Image — generate
AQ-04 · FAIL-OPEN / 5:4 landscape Architectural photograph of a pool hall exit route with the barriers in their fully open, free-passage state. Two swing barriers in brushed stainless steel stand with their glass arms swung completely flat against the housings, leaving a wide unobstructed lane on wet pale tile that reflects the overhead light. A soft green indicator glows on each housing, and above the corridor beyond, a plain illuminated green emergency light casts a gentle wash on a pale wall — shown only as a simple glowing rectangle with no readable text or pictogram. The hall is empty, bright and quiet, with humid haze and faint aqua reflections. Symmetrical straight-on composition looking down the clear lane, camera at eye level, 35mm lens perspective, moderate depth of field. Diffuse daylight with the green safety glow as the accent. Calm, safe, wide open. No text, no readable signage, no pictograms, no logos, no people.
04 — Evacuation

Wide open, on the wet side

On power loss the arms release to free passage and stay there, as EN 17352 requires of motorised pedestrian barriers on escape routes. On the widest variants that leaves an opening of up to 1200 mm.

Every declaration and test document is available for your fire strategy and for building control.

Included in a Turnkey Delivery

The clock, the count and the entitlement.

A pool sells time and capacity rather than membership alone, which makes the logic behind the gate the part that earns its keep. On a turnkey delivery Keyable Europe configures and supports it.

  • Timed sessions with start, duration and overstay handling
  • Live occupancy against a maximum bather load
  • Family and group tickets on a single transaction
  • Wristband, card, NFC and QR on the same reader
  • Cached entitlements when the network drops
  • Fail-open on power loss, always
How we deliver
Image — generate
AQ-TECH / portrait 4:5 Elegant product still in portrait orientation: a compact access-control reader panel mounted flush into the brushed stainless steel body of a barrier at a pool entrance, photographed close in a humid environment. Fine condensation beads the metal around the panel. The small screen glows warm white showing a single simple check-mark symbol; a silicone wristband rests just against the reading window, held by a hand cropped at the frame edge and softly out of focus. Behind, the pool hall dissolves entirely into pale aqua light and haze. Close three-quarter macro, 85mm lens perspective, extremely shallow depth of field with only the reader critically sharp. Lit by diffuse daylight plus the glow of the screen, with a thin champagne-gold reflection along the brushed metal edge. Precise, clean, humid, calm. No readable text, no logos, no branding, no face.
Recommended

Three configurations that suit this sector.

Chosen for what an aquatic centre actually faces: humidity, families and an outdoor lido that has to survive winter.

KSB · Swing Barrier

The main hall

Rated by the manufacturer for indoor and outdoor use, anti-fingerprint electroplate, and the widest lane in the range for families and equipment.

  • Passageup to 1200 mm
  • Ratedindoor & outdoor
  • Operating−20 to 60 °C
Swing Barriers →
KSP · Speed Gate

The ticket line

For the dry entrance where a summer Saturday arrives all at once and the queue reaches the car park.

  • Open cycle0.7 s
  • Throughputup to 50 / min
  • Passage650–1000 mm
Speed Gates →
KT · Tripod Turnstile

The outdoor lido

Variants rated by the manufacturer for indoor and outdoor duty in painted or electroplated steel, for a seasonal perimeter that stands through winter.

  • Throughput35 / min
  • From footprint600 mm
  • Ratedindoor & outdoor
Tripod Turnstiles →

All technical figures on this page are as published by the manufacturer in the September 2025 specification. Where a value is not published, it is omitted rather than estimated.

In Place

A municipal aquatic centre.

Image — generate
AQ-CASE / 16:11 landscape Wide architectural establishing photograph of the entrance concourse of a municipal aquatic centre in mid-morning light, with no people present. Four swing barriers in brushed stainless steel with clear glass arms stand in a precise row across the frame, one lane visibly wider than the rest, all closed and ready with soft green indicators lit. The concourse is generous and civic: large pale ceramic tiles with a faint sheen, a fully glazed façade on the left admitting flat daylight, a high white ceiling with recessed linear lighting, a pale rendered wall on the right carrying no signage. Beyond the barriers the pool hall is visible as soft aqua light and gentle water reflections on the ceiling, out of focus. Camera at eye level, 24mm lens perspective, clean diffuse daylight, minimal shadow, cool palette of white, grey, steel and aqua. Calm, empty, ordered, waiting. No text, no logos, no signage, no people.
Pools & Aquatic Centres

Four lanes, one bather count

A municipal centre with a pool hall, a sauna suite and a summer lido: four barrier lanes on the main concourse, wristband reading throughout, timed sessions enforced at the exit, and a live occupancy figure held against the permitted bather load.

The widest lane doubles as the accessible route and as the family lane, so there is no separate gate and nothing that marks anyone out.

1200 mmWidest lane
−20/60 °COperating range
4Lanes
Common Questions

Answers, briefly.

What entrance control suits a swimming pool?

Barriers specified for humidity: electroplated stainless steel with an anti-fingerprint treatment, rated by the manufacturer for indoor and outdoor use, with an operating range of −20 °C to 60 °C. Swing barriers are the usual choice because they also give the widest passage.

How do visitors open a gate at a pool without a phone or wallet?

With an RFID wristband read at 13.56 MHz. A wristband is waterproof, wearable and does not need pockets, which is why it is the standard credential on the wet side. The same readers also accept QR codes and NFC at the dry entrance.

Can entrance barriers count how many bathers are inside?

Yes. All Keyable barriers are bi-directional, so entries and exits are both recorded and live occupancy is the difference between them. That figure can be compared against a maximum bather load and used to hold entry when the limit is reached.

How are timed pool sessions enforced at the gate?

The entitlement carried by the wristband holds a session start and duration. At the exit gate the elapsed time is checked, and an overstay is either charged automatically or referred to the desk, without staff having to watch a clock.

Do pool barriers open during an evacuation?

Yes. EN 17352 requires motorised pedestrian barriers on escape routes to leave the way out clear, and Keyable barriers release to free passage on power loss. This matters more at a pool than almost anywhere, because the people evacuating are barefoot and unclothed.

How We Deliver

Two ways to work with us.

Every model in the range is available either as a supply-only order or as a complete installation. The choice is commercial, not technical — the hardware is identical.

01 — Supply

Hardware only

You already have an integrator, an access platform and a programme. We deliver the equipment and the paperwork, and stay out of the way.

  • Barriers, readers and controllers
  • Technical datasheets and dimensioned drawings
  • CE marking and EN 17352 declaration
  • Delivery to site, anywhere in Europe
  • Manufacturer warranty
  • Spare parts held in Europe
Request a quotation →
02 — Turnkey

Everything, as one contract

One point of responsibility from the site survey to the fifth year of service. You approve a design and take delivery of a working entrance.

  • Everything in supply, plus:
  • Software: entitlements, ticketing, attendance, occupancy
  • Installation and mechanical fixing
  • Commissioning and integration with your systems
  • Staff handover and documentation
  • Scheduled maintenance and online support
  • Extended warranty on the installed system
Discuss a turnkey project →

Both models cover the full range: speed gates, swing, flap and sliding barriers, tripod and full height turnstiles. Scope, response times and warranty terms are set per project and confirmed in the quotation.

Work with us

Tell us about your centre.

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