The pool was commissioned by the Council under a plan by the then Lord Provost, Sir Herbert Archbold Brechin in 1966 as part of a wider project to bring the Commonwealth Games to Edinburgh.

This, with the help of other committee members such as Sir John Inch, came to fruition in October 1969.

The architecture was by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall with structural input from Ove Arup & Partners.

In 1993 it was selected by the international conservation organisation DoCoMoMo as one of sixty key Scottish monuments of the post-war period.

[9] The project, led by Frank and Charlie of S&P Architects (now Space&Place Architects) began in August 2009, costing approximately £37 million, and included new 25 metres (82 ft) diving and teaching pools as well as improvements to the changing rooms, café, reception, and the dive gym.