The dream-turned-plan of a floating pool in the East River is getting ever closer to swimmable reality. Today, the Family and PlayLab architects launched their latest crowdfunding effort, a $250,000 Kickstarter designed to fund a "floating test lab" in the East River this summer. The miniature (35-foot by 35-foot) version of +Pool, to be built off the Brooklyn shore in August, will test out materials that could be used for the pool's ultimate construction and resolve the water quality issues involved in putting human beings into the East River for any length of time.
The full-sized +Pool will have 70,000 tiles lining its walls and floor, so the team decided to offer up those tiles to project backers. If every tile is sponsored (and the sponsor's name will appear on the tile itself), the whole $15 million project will be funded; 1,400 tile backers are needed for the test pool. The first 5,000 people to buy their own tiles will get First Dips, which are exactly what they sound like: early access to +Pool, which has a 2016 projected opening date. The lowest level for entry is $25, which gets you a slot on a group tile along with seven other random pool sponsors. And there's the chance to be part of history: if the project reaches its goal, it will be one of the largest civic projects funded on Kickstarter so far. We're guessing it'll make it with no trouble, since the projects pot o' gold is already at $18,675 on day one.
· +Pool, Tile by Tile [Kickstarter]
· +Pool coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...