+ POOL in New York

+ POOL in New York isn’t simply another pool in New York City. It’s ‘the world’s first water-filtering, a floating pool in New York’. It all started with three friends, an interesting, innovative idea and a Kickstarter project to make it happen. + POOL arose out of the conclusion that it was quite remarkable how this metropolitan city has so much to offer, except for clean water to swim in, aside from regular pools.

Swim in the River

Instead of creating another regular swimming pool, the initiators of + POOL (also called Plus Pool) wished to make use of the actual, existing rivers. Basically just to make New Yorkers appreciate their rivers even better, by enabling them to swim in them.

Instead of cleaning an entire river, they decided to take it step by step, and started out by cleaning just a ‘small’ piece of the East River. 860m², to be precise. See it as a strainer that’s been dropped in the river.  The ‘+’ in the name refers to the special features this Olympic-sized pool has. Also, the pool is actually shaped like a ‘+’.

How Does + POOL Work?

It works like this: the ‘+’ is floating in the river, and the walls are equipped with filters that remove all bacteria and contaminants so that the water that enters the pool (almost 2 million litres a day) is clean and swimmable. This is done naturally, without the use of chemicals or additives. This pool is not just an amazing new piece of leisure; it’s also a good step towards cleaning the rivers of New York.

From Pilot to Full-Scale Pool for Everyone

+ POOL is supposed to become a spot for everyone. That’s why it is designed as four pools in one: a children’s pool, a sports pool, a lap pool and a lounge pool.

Building the pool is a complex, multi-phase process, starting with a rectangular pilot pool at Pier 35, which is approximately one quarter of the size of the eventual plus-shaped design. First, this pilot will test the filtration system and operations in the East River under real conditions. Once this is complete, the pool will open to swimmers.

So the + POOL opening date is not yet known. Meanwhile, the tiles are already being produced, engraved with the names of every single sponsor that helps to make this project happen.