A glass "sky pool" is planned to be suspended between apartment blocks in London's new Nine Elms quarter, close to Battersea Power Station.

The 25-metre-long pool will link two blocks of apartments that form part of the 2,000-home Embassy Gardens development by London architects HAL, now in its second stage.

At five metres wide and three metres deep, the pool will allow residents to swim between the two buildings while enjoying views of London through the pool's completely transparent 20-centimetre glass casing.

Intended to resemble an aquarium, the pool was designed by architecture firm Arup Associates with specialist advice from structural design engineers Eckersley O' Callaghan and aquarium designers Reynolds.

The residential blocks, developed by the Ballymore Group, will also feature a rooftop bar, spa and orangery. An additional bridge forms a second link, allowing residents and visitors to walk between the buildings as well as paddle. Ballymore is calling the pool "a world first".

"My vision for the sky pool stemmed from a desire to push the boundaries in the capability of construction and engineering," said Ballymore Group chairman and CEO, Sean Mulryan. "I wanted to do something that had never been done before."

"The Sky Pool's transparent structure is the result of significant advancements in technologies over the last decade. The experience of the pool will be truly unique, it will feel like floating through the air in central London," he added.

The riverside Nine Elms area – situated adjacent to Battersea Power Station – is currently undergoing extensive redevelopment as part of a masterplan by Foster + Partners and Frank Gehry.

Two additional tube stations will link central London to new area, which will feature a new public square designed by BIG. Last month, the firm's founder Bjarke Ingels unveiled plans to turn the chimneys at the iconic power station into giant sparking Tesla coils.

Construction on the Embassy Gardens Legacy Buildings apartment blocks is planned for completion in 2017.

Elsewhere in London, Kings Cross is home to the UK's first man-made bathing pond, conceived as both an art installation and a public facility.

Earlier this year Dezeen interviewed Studio Octopi architect Chris Romer-Lee, who successfully funded the Thames Baths – a new floating swimming pool on the Thames – through a Kickstarter campaign.