POOL IS COOL has been advocating for the reintroduction of outdoor swimming in Brussels since 2015. In 2021 they opened FLOW, the first public outdoor pool in the city in forty years, designed and built by Decoratelier Jozef Wouters. As a prototype for more permanent solutions, FLOW addresses the urgency of the lack of open-air swimming in the European capital. FLOW also fulfils a number of social ambitions, such as employing young people from Brussels who are keen to contribute to the project.
Local
Belgium
Flemish Government,
Flemish Community Commission,
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region,
Municipality of Anderlecht
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2021-05-01
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): POOL IS COOL Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Paul Last name of representative: Steinbrück Gender: Male Nationality: Belgium Function: Co-founder & Partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Scailquinstraat 35-21a Town: Sint-Joost-Ten-Node Postal code: 1210 Country: Belgium Direct Tel:+32 487 24 69 10 E-mail:paul@pooliscool.org Website:http://www.pooliscool.org
Name of the organisation(s): Decoratelier Jozef Wouters Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Jozef Last name of representative: Wouters Gender: Male Nationality: Belgium Function: Co-founder & Partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Manchesterstraat 17 Town: Brussels Postal code: 1080 Country: Belgium Direct Tel:+32 2 513 25 40 E-mail:info@damagedgoods.be Website:https://www.damagedgoods.be/en/about/jozef-wouters-decoratelier
Every major city in Europe offers public outdoor swimming facilities to its inhabitants, except for Brussels. Although the debate has been going on for years, during the summer of 2020, when the region was plagued by heat waves and thousands of families were unable to travel due to Covid-related restrictions, public access to places of leisure became even more crucial.
Since 2015, the non-profit organization POOL IS COOL has been advocating for the reintroduction of outdoor swimming in Brussels. With the support of growfunding and local organizations and governments, in 2021 they created the very first public outdoor swimming pool in Brussels in more than 40 years. FLOW is a 17x7m pool that offers the possibility of real swimming while being sufficiently shallow for children, surrounded by an accessible and functional infrastructure. This infrastructure was designed and built by artist and scenographer Jozef Wouters and his Decoratelier, an alliance of technicians and builders, which is based close to the location of the pool. Local youth were also involved in the construction work.
Situated at a derelict industrial site at the canal in Anderlecht, FLOW is a prototype for the swimming places to come, proving that outdoor swimming in Brussels is both necessary and beneficial to the social fabric of the city. In addition to being a public pool, FLOW fulfils a large number of social ambitions including offering employment to young people, serving as a platform for local artist, and maintaining a safe public space to all its visitors regardless of their gender, origins or social background. As a project built and carried by a local community, FLOW creates space for social commentary and debate and shows the value of scenography in the public arena.
Sustainability
Recreation
Community
Youth
Water
One of the aims of FLOW was to create an outdoor swimming pool without causing impact to its environment, which proved to be a difficult objective. Nevertheless, Decoratelier created a scenography that met most of the goals and requirements that were commonly shared with POOL IS COOL. Through conscious design choices, they developed a flexible and sustainable system. In all phases of the production process, they radically chose a sustainable approach at the ecological, social and aesthetic level.
The design is based on Decoratelier’s typical modular grandstand system, which has been used to create scenographies and seating areas for theatrical productions. Because it consists of compatible modules, it can be used, re-used and adapted for different projects or clients who wish to transform a public space.
The base of the grandstand system consists of used pallet racks, a unique feature that sets the system apart from common systems. Not only does it reduce the ecological footprint of the production, but the pallet racks can be recovered and reused after the structure has reached the end of its life cycle.
The timber frame is made to measure from reused or local timber from sustainable timber construction (poplar and pine). By keeping the iron and wood strictly separate, both can be easily recycled.
The sophistication of the design creates an attractive and aesthetic presence in the public space. At the same time, it is deliberately sober and averse to trends. It is not tied to any particular aesthetic or subculture and remains relevant.
After its successful growfunding campaign in 2022, POOL IS COOL will research and realize the implementation of an ecological water purification system with plant filters at FLOW. The Brussels government has been working on new legislation making this possible. We believe FLOW can be an ecological prototype for new ways of dealing with water treatment.
As a functional prototype and an inspiring model, FLOW offers its inhabitants a temporary yet sustainable place to cool down in summer, aiming to convince authorities to invest in permanent projects.
FLOW incorporates all the facilities that belong to an outdoor pool, including changing rooms, lockers, showers and a bar – and there are plans to open a hammam, which will be especially inviting in the context of Brussels’ weather, for a growing number of winter swimmers who hope to use the pool year-round. Characteristic for its design are the multi-tiered sun decks that surround the pool, where visitors can relax without disturbing the privacy of the swimmers. The decks also serve as podium or stands for cultural activities. Decorative elements by local artists enhance the feeling of the space as a temporary phantasm, a dream made of water.
The modular grandstand system of Decoratelier is a spatial language on its own, a structure of scaffolding and wood that takes on different shapes and forms according to the context and program. As a result, each application of the system is unique and site-specific, allowing for future adjustments, disassembly and reuse. Jozef Wouters designed this system primarily from his practice as an artist and stage designer, meeting aesthetic as well as practical standards. The design was nominated for a Henry Van de Velde design award in 2021, and the project was featured in a publication by the Flemish Architecture Institute, published in 2022.
In line with the social ambitions of the project, the structure was engineered to be built by many hands, consisting of repeated patterns of identical wooden pieces, so that the work can easily be learned by and passed on among inexperienced builders. Neighborhood inhabitants were closely involved in the building and exploitation of the pool, which has proven instrumental in ensuring an inclusive experience for all visitors.
Inclusion for all is a major factor in the organization and realization of FLOW. As described below, the involvement of local youth in the construction and exploitation of the pool by Decoratelier and other partner organizations such as Art2Work, FIX and Ecoworks is a major contributing factor to its success as an inclusive public space shared by a diversity of people from all over the city (as has been shown by a recent survey executed by POOL IS COOL.
POOL IS COOL strives to make sure that people of all identities, backgrounds, abilities, genders, ethnicities, religions and ages feel welcome. This was ensured by the implementation of clear codes of conduct laid out and enforced by a diverse team of volunteers in order to make sure that everyone feels safe and respected. On Saturdays, certain time slots are reserved for women only, which greatly benefited the Muslim community in offering a safe space for them where they can enjoy swimming without worrying about being judged by others or feeling uncomfortable by the presence of men.
POOL IS COOL believes everyone deserves a chance to have fun at FLOW without breaking their wallet. To make open air swimming possible for as many visitors as possible, POOL IS COOL created different pricing strategies so that even those from lower income backgrounds can afford admission fees. Due to this wish but also the sponsorships and subsidies from local governments and organizations, they were able to lower the admission fees for all visitors instead of working with exclusive discounts that could still exclude those who need it the most. The prices were lowered to adults paying only 2,00€, while youngsters pay 1,50€. Children up to 11 years are welcome free of charge.
Finally, POOL IS COOL also organizes a diversity of activities at FLOW, striving to ensure that there is something for everybody on the program, from cultural performances, movie nights and yoga classes to free swim classes or reading sessions for children.
Decoratelier approached the construction as a participatory project, providing education and temporary work to over 50 short-schooled local youths in a neighborhood where unemployment is a critical and urgent issue. These young people contribute their hands and technical skills, but also their voices to FLOW. During and after construction, conversations took place about public space, privacy, police brutality and exclusion.
In the hot summer of 2020, many were seeking respite from the heat at the Belgian coast, where overpopulation and covid restrictions caused tensions that involved young people from the capital. Instead of dealing with the root of the problem, these groups were stigmatized and in some cases barred from the coast by local authorities. These were some of the issues that were put on the agenda when, a year later, some of these same people helped build a radically inclusive swimming spot in their own city.
The continued employment of local youth in the daily management and upkeeping of the pool has been key for establishing a sense of shared ownership. Because of this, FLOW has been able to remain a haven for families and individuals from the neighbourhood, while it is also visited by an incredibly diverse audience from all over Brussels. As such, the pool demonstrates the potential of public swimming places to reduce social inequalities and strengthen the social fabric in an urban environment. FLOW shows how new development in the public space can have an integrating rather than a gentrifying presence.
FLOW could not have been made possible without the widespread support the project received from stakeholders from various levels. The knowledge and expertise of each partner within their respective field proved to be vital for the project’s realization, daily operating and all-round success.
Decoratelier Jozef Wouters was responsible for the design of the pool and built it together with the team of FIX, a non-profit which employs short-schooled locals.
Ecoworks ensured that the technical aspects of installing a pool were executed properly and with the lowest impact possible to the natural environment.
ART2WORK coordinated the exploitation of the pool, employing young people from the district to work there throughout summer, helping to make ‘their’ swimming pool is accessible to all the city’s inhabitants.
Speculoos + Variable designed a welcoming and recognizable visual identity for FLOW.
Cultural programs in and around the pool have been organized by the Brussels-based organizations Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Zinnema and Cinema Galeries, among others. These activities are part of the pool’s public function and bring together people from various communities of Brussels to enjoy a cultural agenda that is diverse, accessible and inclusive.
The complexity of building an public open-air swimming pool is also well-reflected in the broad support that the project received from local and regional governments. FLOW was based on growfunding, making it first and foremost a project that is realized by the inhabitants of Brussels, but also benefited from the support of the Flemish Government, the Brussels Government, the Flemish Community Commission, Brussels Environment, Brussels Mobility, Urban.brussels, the Port of Brussels, the Commune of Anderlecht, Quartier Biestebroeck asbl, and several other sponsors. All of these stakeholders see their own ambitions represented in FLOW and continue to support the project on various levels.
The construction of a public open air swimming pool of this nature was a unique project that came with many specific questions and problems. For the development and management of FLOW, POOL IS COOL and Decoratelier joined forces with numerous partners from different fields, including architecture, engineering, social work, communication and culture. The joined forces behind the realization of FLOW consisted of a solid team of partners, each having great expertise in their own field. The excellent communication and collaboration between those partners was essential for the success of the project. The many challenges in terms of design, construction, sustainability, accessibility and other fields that needed to be resolved required the team to work together as closely as possible and allow for an open dialogue and out-of-the-box solutions, thus stepping away from a conventional working method into a real problem-solving approach.
The original aim of POOL IS COOL was not to build pools, but to urge decision-takers, politicians and administration to take steps to reintroduce public open air swimming in Brussels. Due to the widespread support of Brussels’ inhabitants who got in contact with the project through POOL IS COOL’s public actions and social media, the rare opportunity to realize this pilot project was manifested.
Thanks to the support that FLOW received from local governments, POOL IS COOL is in closer contact with their various spokespersons, who have not only seen or experienced the benefits of the open air swimming pool, but are now more open to the idea of a permanent solution to be implemented in the future revitalization projects of the canal site and elsewhere in Brussels. Various concrete plans are now in the pipeline.
During its first summer, FLOW was incredibly well received by the inhabitants of Brussels, far exceeding the hopes and expectations that it would become an inclusive public space shared by a diversity of communities and people. The swimming pool attracted people from various origins and backgrounds, ranging from hipster millennials to local children and Muslim mothers. People often came in groups to enjoy not only some swimming and splashing, but also to participate in a wide program of fitness lessons, cinema, concerts, debates, performances or simply to read a book in the sun. The pool answered the challenging predicament to be a place cared for and loved by the fragile social context of Anderlecht, but exceeded expectations by becoming an attraction for the whole Brussels region as the sole public outdoor pool. That being said FLOW is not a solution for the lack of outdoor swimming in Brussels. It is primarily a tool to show that outdoor swimming in Brussels is possible, that it’s highly demanded (which is very obvious), and that outdoor swimming places can truly be social anchors in a neighborhood while having widespread appeal.
FLOW also attracted a lot of positive attention in the press and by governing bodies, underlining the need for more and more permanent public swimming places. The pool was mentioned as an inspiration and a catalyst in a recent press release by the Brussels State Secretary, announcing the plans for a permanent public open air swimming pool on the rooftop of a new development on the Abbatoir site in Anderlecht. In 2022 FLOW was also selected from more than 300 submissions as one of the five finalists of the European Prize for Urban Public Space.
Due to its widespread success and best practices, FLOW was able to open for a second season in July 2022. POOL IS COOL also ran a successful growfunding campaign with more than 900 supporters. A third season in the summer of 2023 is being planned.
After advocating for the reintroduction of public swimming for many years by lobbying with authorities and organizing public actions, POOL IS COOL received permission and funding to realize a temporary swimming pool on a derelict side next to the Brussels canal, in the district of Anderlecht.
The location where the pool is located is literally situated 'in between'. It's a triangular site between the Brussels' canal, a bridge crossing the canal – with steep slopes between the levels of the site and the bridge – a road that follows along the canal, and a site that belongs to the port of Brussels. Due to the absence of any previous use, realizing a public infrastructure at this location added a quality to the city without replacing what had been there before.
After a public call, Decoratelier was selected from several candidates to design and build the infrastructure for the pool. Throughout the process, meetings with neighbors and representatives of neighborhood organisations were installed to ensure broad local support for and engagement with the pool. But the involvement of local inhabitants has gone beyond this in many ways.
FLOW was purposefully designed by Decoratelier Jozef Wouters to enable a participatory building project involving a large group of short-schooled youth from the neighborhood. Unlike iron, woodworking requires little training time and there is a wider margin for error. The wooden parts consist of many identical pieces, so the work remains small-scale and rather repetitive. This allows inexperienced builders to quickly work independently and build expertise through a horizontal structure, allowing them to gain confidence and experience in a non-coercive framework. The employment of local youth in the daily management of the pool is also a part of this approach, which aims to create a sense of shared ownership, avoid conflicts and have a positive impact on the image of this neighbourhood in transition.
As a temporary or even a permanent solution for a lack of public outdoor swimming opportunities this project could be replicated in any location in all facets of its methodology and design. We imagine that the approach in terms of the building process and management of the pool could be effectively embedded in a wide variety of neighborhoods, to create a sense of shared ownership and an inclusive atmosphere, and to address and discuss social problems.
Decoratelier’s design for FLOW is built on a modular principle, meaning that it could be adapted to various different kinds of spaces and location. Moreover, the flexibility of the structure allows for modifications and new features to be added as the project evolves. For instance, FLOW did not feature a bar during its first summer, out of fear that this would have a gentrifying influence. Now that the pool is well established in the neighbourhood, and after a survey showed the pool’s visitors were open to the idea, a kiosk has been inserted into the existing structure – a good example of the open dialogue between design and construction that is at the basis of this project.
With heat waves becoming more frequent and intense in many parts of the world, and urban environments becoming more and more densely populated, we believe open air swimming will become an issue in many cities. POOL IS COOL has been in touch with over 170 reference projects addressing related issues all over the world. Along with these, FLOW can be emblematic as a solution for future urban climatological and social challenges.
Through this project, we have conducted contextual and empirical research to develop knowledge and stimulate social debates, going beyond the importance of public access to recreational waters. For instance, who has access to the coast? What attempts are being made for privatization and the reiteration of logics of systemic discrimination?
We have demonstrable results that prove how the approach of Decoratelier and POOL IS COOL in setting up, building and managing the pool creates a common basis locally, which benefits the inclusive nature on the project on a wider regional level. FLOW also shows the importance of collaborations between different structures from different layers of a city’s governing and civic bodies.
We don’t know what the limit of such an approach is yet. The combination of a recreational place that is accessible to everyone, answers socio-cultural concerns in the neighborhood, and provides a responsible working place/employer for people is very interesting. This could be developed for other, similar infrastructures that—like pools—have a high running cost, but low revenues.
Finally, while one aim of FLOW is to demonstrate the need for more and more permanent public swimming solutions in a specific location (Brussels) it also demonstrates that infrastructure in public space does not have to be permanent, but can be envisioned as an ongoing and endlessly modulable conversation between various parties and stakeholders, including the people that are directly affected by and participating in it.
