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    Plus Pool

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min

    Plus Pool
    Commercial?No
    Type of projectPublic swimming pool
    LocationEast River, New York City
    FounderDong-Ping Wong, Oana Stănescu, Archie Lee Coates IV, Jeffrey Franklin[1]
    EstablishedJune 2010
    FundingCrowdfunded via Kickstarter
    Websitewww.pluspool.org/home/
    Map
    Pier 35 on the East River in Lower Manhattan is the planned location for the first Plus Pool in 2025.

    Plus Pool (often stylized as "+ POOL") is an initiative started in 2010 to create an innovative, floating swimming pool on the East River in New York City. Two companies, Family New York and PlayLab, developed the concept of a floating pool that would filter river water to supply clean water for the pool. The pool would be at Pier 35 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

    Concept

    [edit]

    Plus Pool was conceived and designed to both clean the waters of the East River and provide a public space for water-based recreation.[2] Plus Pool is designed to filter up to one million gallons of river water each day through its custom, chemical free, layered filtration system.[3][4] Over 250,000 gallons of the river water surrounding the pool would become safe, clean, filtered water used to fill the pool.[5] Originally, the goal was to raise a total of $15 million to fund a completely functioning pool by 2016.[3][6][7] By 2021, the pool was designed to contain 285,500 U.S. gallons (1,081,000 L; 237,700 imp gal) of water and to filter 600,000 U.S. gallons (2,300,000 L; 500,000 imp gal)[8] or 1,000,000 U.S. gallons (3,800,000 L; 830,000 imp gal) per day.[9][10]

    The pool's name comes from the fact that it would be shaped like a plus sign. By 2024, plans called for four separate pools (lounge, kids', watersports, and lap-swimming pools). The pools could be combined into one pool with an area of around 9,000 square feet (840 m2), and they could also be configured into a lap pool with several lanes.[9][11]

    History

    [edit]

    Prior to 2013

    [edit]

    Beginning in the 19th century, New York City had as many as 15 'floating baths' moored along the Hudson and East Rivers.[11] A floating pool known as the 'Floating Pool Lady' was created at Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2007 and continues to operate in Barretto Point Park in the Bronx. Plus Pool was designed to use water directly from the East River, filtering it to make it safe for swimming, which is unique from previous floating pools.[12][13][14]

    Beginning in 2010, two companies, Family New York and PlayLab, began a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise money for Plus Pool, a innovative pool design, utilizing a custom filtering system as a clean water source for a floating public pool on the East River.[2] In July 2011, the team raised over $41,000 on Kickstarter to test filtration materials using water from the East River.[15]

    In July 2013, with the help of a feasibility study by Columbia University, over a quarter million dollars was raised to build a 35-square-foot (3.3 m2) miniature version of the floating pool.[16][17] The "test lab" was a working prototype to analyze its effectiveness in river conditions.[3]Since its inception, several independent companies have participated the project, including the engineering firm, Arup,[17][18] design firm IDEO, environmental consultants from One Nature, and Storefront for Art and Architecture.[19][20] The project also garnered interest from government officials, notably New York State Senator Daniel Squadron and New York City Council Member Brad Lander.[21][22] In November 2013, Time magazine named Plus Pool as one of the 25 best inventions of the year 2013.[12][23]

    2014–present

    [edit]

    A nonprofit organization known as Friends of +Pool was created in 2015 to oversee the pool's development.[9][24] Plus Pool was originally projected to open by the summer of 2016, but the project saw little development at that point.[7] In 2017, Plus Pool formed a partnership with the Heineken brewing company. The team created a promotional video for Plus Pool, narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, to revitalize public interest in the project.[25][26] The pool's sponsors also applied for a provisional patent in 2017 and an international patent the next year.[9] In 2019, the founders of Plus Pool introduced a light sculpture in the East River. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Heineken and the Howard Hughes Corporation, the sculpture changes colors based on water conditions. The system and the algorithm behind it was developed by scientists at Columbia University and developers and designers at the tech firm Reaktor.[27]

    In 2021, New York City approved a location for Plus Pool just north of the Manhattan Bridge on the Lower East Side. The team proceeded to work on regulatory thresholds for the river and pool bathers.[8][12][28] On January 5, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that a joint effort by the state and New York City would fund a combined $16 million to Plus Pool project as part of the governor's NY SWIMS initiative. A prototype of the design was planned to be displayed in the East River during the summer of 2024. If the test run was successful, Plus Pool would open to the public in 2025.[29][30][31] In August 2024, it was announced that the pool would be at Pier 35 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[32][33] Testing of a prototype filter for Plus Pool began the same month.[10]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "+POOL Team". +POOL. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
    2. ^ a b Matarese, Jennifer (July 6, 2011). "Designers plan floating pool for East or Hudson River". WABC-TV, ABC News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    3. ^ a b c Willett-Wei, Megan (June 17, 2013). "A Floating Pool In New York's East River Is Getting Closer To Reality". Business Insider. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    4. ^ Nast, Condé (January 19, 2024). "A New Floating Pool Will Reclaim NYC's Rivers For Public Swimming". Condé Nast Traveler. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
    5. ^ Griffith, Eric (June 21, 2013). "Kickstarter Tech Project of the Week: +POOL". PC Magazine. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    6. ^ El Nasser, Haya (May 1, 2013). "Crowdfunding gives rise to projects truly in public domain". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    7. ^ a b Sisak, Michael R. (April 23, 2014). "When does Plus Pool open?". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
    8. ^ a b Hills, Megan C. (May 20, 2021). "New York greenlights floating public pool on the East River". CNN. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
    9. ^ a b c d Barandy, Kat (August 9, 2024). "New York City's Self-filtering +Pool to Open at Pier 35 Near Lower East Side Manhattan". designboom. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    10. ^ a b Palumbo, Jacqui (August 15, 2024). "New York City is one step closer to getting its long-awaited floating East River pool". CNN. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    11. ^ a b Towey, Hannah (January 19, 2024). "A New Floating Pool Will Reclaim NYC's Rivers For Public Swimming". Condé Nast Traveler. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    12. ^ a b c Swanson, Carl (May 7, 2021). "First Look: The Plus Pool's Future East River Home". Curbed. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    13. ^ Weaver, Shaye (June 4, 2021). "NYC's only floating pool is back in the East River for the summer". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    14. ^ Chan, Sewell (July 5, 2007). "A Short History of Brooklyn's Floating Pool". City Room. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    15. ^ Rutkoff, Aaron (June 24, 2011). "An East River Pool? Maybe This Idea Isn't Off the Deep End". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    16. ^ Brooks, Katherine (July 12, 2013). "Floating Pool Project Is Fully Funded And New Yorkers Everywhere Should Celebrate". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
    17. ^ a b Solon, Olivia (June 17, 2011). "Plus Pool: The floating swimming pool proposed for NYC's river". Wired. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    18. ^ Mathias, Christopher (June 16, 2011). "+ Pool Team Starts Kickstarter Project To Make East River Floating Pool A Reality". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    19. ^ "+Pool". Storefront for Art and Architecture. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    20. ^ "+Pool on crowdfunding architecture". Arup Connect. Arup. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    21. ^ Polsky, Sara (January 4, 2011). "Brooklyn Bridge Park's Floating Pool Gets a Boost". Curbed. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    22. ^ "+POOL Timeline". +POOL. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
    23. ^ "The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013 Read more: The Plus Pool | The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013". Time. November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on November 17, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
    24. ^ Eberhardt, Ellen (January 19, 2024). ""I was frozen out" of + Pool project says architect Dong-Ping Wong". Dezeen. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
    25. ^ Walker, Ameena (April 25, 2017). "New York's +POOL hopes to shore up public support with new campaign". Curbed. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
    26. ^ Warerkar, Tanay (August 4, 2017). "Neil Patrick Harris voices new +Pool hype video, and it's kind of awesome". Curbed NY. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
    27. ^ Kurutz, Steven (October 5, 2019). "New Yorkers Will Have to Wait for an East River Pool (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
    28. ^ Gleason, Will (May 10, 2021). "This spectacular floating pool now has a home in the East River". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
    29. ^ Offenhartz, Jake (January 6, 2024). "Opening in 2025: A floating pool in the East River?". NBC New York. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
    30. ^ Meko, Hurubie (January 6, 2024). "Floating East River Pool May Open to Public Next Year Under Hochul Plan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
    31. ^ Rahmanan, Anna (January 8, 2024). "A floating pool shaped like a plus sign will actually open in the East River in 2025". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
    32. ^ "NYC floating pool: State-of-the-art water facility coming to East River's Pier 35 in Manhattan". ABC7 New York. August 9, 2024. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
    33. ^ Stark-Miller, Ethan (August 7, 2024). "Manhattan's Pier 35 chosen as location for long-awaited plus-shaped East River swimming pool". amNewYork. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
    [edit]
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    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus Pool
    Status: article is cached
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