Type of project:
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Landscape, urban design and infrastructure projects
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Start of construction:
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January 2018
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Main author:
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Tim Edler, realities:united, Germany |
Further authors:
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Jan Edler, realities:united, Germany, Denise Dih, DODK, Germany
Heiko Sieker, Ingenieurgesellschaft Prof. Dr. Sieker, Germany
Anna Lundqvist, Christian Bohne, Man Made Land, Germany
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Project description
The Flussbad project is located in the center of Berlin and transforms an unused arm of the River Spree into a natural 745m “swimming pool”. The facility is the equivalent of seventeen Olympic swimming pools with an average width of 28.8m, water depth around 2.2m, and features a 780m-long reed bed filtration system. The renewal concept for the 3.9ha site is as invigorating and hypothetical as it is realistic and simple in design. Parts of the Lustgarten quay wall are converted into generous stairs providing access to the swimming pool, with functional lockers and change rooms integrated unobtrusively into the terrain.
Water entering the upper section of the river arm is purified through a 1.8ha reed bed natural reserve with sub-surface sand bed filters. A barrage at the lower end of the system prevents the backflow of unfiltered water from the main body of the river, and overflow outlets for city’s mixed sewage network are channeled beneath the system. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the precinct has experienced a 75% increase in resident population and parallel loss of vacant space. The Flussbad right in the heart of Berlin’s historic city center on an unused river arm provides a public urban recreation space for both, residents and tourists adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Museuminsel (Museum Island).
“Bringing life to the center of the city”Project co-author Tim Edler of realities:united, Germany explains how their project to remediate a disused arm of the River Spree in Berlin aims to improve urban life – creating a recreation area in the center of the city and also giving an impetus for change in the way we value rivers. The project won the Global Holcim Awards Bronze 2012.
The video of architect Tim Edler was filmed at the “Panoramadeck” of the Emporio Tower in Hamburg during the launch of the book, Machen! The new publication reports on the Holcim Awards winners 2012 from Germany. Watch the video by clicking on the image above.
 High-resolution version of video above (ZIP, 15MB)
Enrique Norten: “Celebrating urban living”Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2012 Enrique Norten explained that the “Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct” in Berlin, Germany, creates a direct and strong impact on the quality of urban life and positive ecological contribution through remediation of the city’s waterways. “The project celebrates urban living in one of the world’s greatest cities, and also honors the city’s connection to its waterways,” he said.
Head of the jury, Enrique Norten, comments on the Holcim Awards Bronze 2012 winning project following the jury meeting.
High-resolution version of video above - (ZIP, 4MB)
Image gallery
Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany
The photographs shown below can be downloaded in high-resolution format by clicking on the link next to the  icon below the image. The images may be used for media and academic purposes and must include a photo credit: Photos © Holcim Foundation. For further enquiries please contact info@holcimfoundation.org.
 Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany View of pool area towards Dom, Lustgarten and Castle.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany View of filter basin along Friedrichsgracht.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Segment A: Isometric view of swimming pool area at Lustgarten.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Segment B: Isometic view of filter basin along Friedrichsgracht.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Segment C: Isometric view of renaturized uppermost section of the river.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Functional diagram of filter basin.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Siteplan.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Section A: Swimming pool.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Section B: Filter basin.  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Section C: Renaturized river  Urban renewal and swimming-pool precinct, Berlin, Germany Tim Edler presents the Global Holcim Awards Bronze 2012 winning project at the “Panoramadeck” of the Emporio Tower in Hamburg during the launch of the book, Machen! on April 25, 2012.
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