Diving Into The +POOL: Help Fund New York’s Floating Pool!

Architizer News

Diving Into The +POOL: Help Fund New York’s Floating Pool!

October 2, 2012

+POOL

Last night, Family and Playlab–the lovable guys behind +POOL, the floating 9,000 square foot pool project for New York’s East River–gathered friends and supporters alike in Brooklyn Brewery for hot dogs and beer. The occasion was more than just fun times; it marked the launch of a new 6-month fundraising campaign with a $1 million goal to jumpstart the project. The architects also debuted a tentative three-year timeline that charts the projected funding and construction phases that will move +Pool from fanciful project to stunning reality. Continue.

This second bout of fundraising comes a year after the project’s initial Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $41,000 and garnered intense media interest and public support. Those funds were used to build a small mock-up filtration unit, developed in tandem with Arup, and which was tested in collaboration with Columbia University in situ over the course of 6 weeks. The conclusion: the idea works. From the collected samples of water, the team found that the filtration system did in fact lower the volume of contaminants, to the point that, with a secondary system in place, the East River would indeed be swimmable.

Now things are getting more real. The goal is high, but the guys need that money to progress the project along. They’ll first need to further develop and test the design’s unique engineering solution, the filtering mechanism that will screen out the bacteria and muck from the East River. After that, they’ll use the rest (and bulk) of the cash to build a prototype pool, along with an adjoining public pavilion that will host talks, events, and panel discussions, that they hope to have ready for next summer. Following those successes, the team will hone in on selecting the right site, which they think they’ll have by December 2013. With the site secured, all that’s left for the building are to collect permits and submit the finalized set of construction documents for the city’s approval. Construction will start in August of 2014, slated to take 10 months (with seasonal interruptions) until completion.

If all goes according to plan–and it’s in every New Yorker’s interest that is does, we think–the pool will open on May 25, 2015, hopefully to the tune of a Beyonce summer anthem. It’s all very ambitious, but so are the best ideas. +POOL will need everyone’s help. Go here to find out more about the project and how to donate.