Breaking with the traditional division between the tasks of the engineer, artist and architect has helped build an urban oasis that fantasy becomes reality. 
In the summer of 2002, thirty-two engineers, artists and architects were invited to Berlin to form groups to participate in a contest to create, on the River Spree, a connection between two parts of the city. The "Spreebruecke" Spree River bridge, architects and AMP Tenerife Berlin artist Susanne Lorenz won the first prize with the reuse of an old sunken barge, filled it with purified water and made it a public swimming pool that floats on River. A project that plays the theme of the bridge as a platform communication.
Art Projects in the City
The competition started by private initiative in the City Art Project, an organization founded to promote dialogue among citizens, organizing a biennial cultural event in Berlin interdisciplinary projects.
An advisory committee selected the participants for their work in collaboration with other areas of knowledge, since the design proposals should reflect a joint project of different professionals. Be encouraged and an amalgam of ideas between the mind of an engineer, artist and architect to change the current urban planning perspective. Too often the "art" is added after the fact.
The process of organizing the groups was to invite all participants to participate for two days at a conference in the city of Berlin. At that time they presented their work. Were also organized boat trips along the Spree to become familiar with the place and, finally, were asked to form teams and select a location to place your performance that should be between East of downtown and east, containing the districts Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Treptow-Koepenick. The association in the City Art Project chose this stretch of river to show the importance of the Spree as a connection between downtown and the suburbs.
A living bridge
The group of architects Artengo Felipe, Fernando Martín Menis and Jose Rodriguez Pastrana (AMP), in collaboration with artist Susanne Lorenz, chose a river in a neighborhood district Treptow was regenerating. It is characterized by its dark brick buildings of a former bus garage ARENA company had become a leisure area next to river. It was also a place near the bridge Elsen with historical links to the bathing culture in Berlin. In the nineteenth century, people were swimming in the river, bathing in separate areas or in private swimming pools filled with fresh water, which were known as Badeschiff or "ships of the bathroom." Although in 1906 have come to be eleven areas of bathing for men and seven women, shortly before the First World War, became the Spree pollution unfit for the bathroom and closed their Berliners had Badeschiff to travel to the region's lakes or swimming pools.
Today, following an ambitious project to clean up the river, tons of clean sand have been transported to its shores from the Baltic Sea coast to create artificial beaches. These banks of the river have become immediately popular and crowded them have opened entertainment.
swim in the river
The proposal of a "boat bathroom" contemporary, sought to recover the winning team practice of the baths and incorporate this activity bars the beaches. The new bridge Spree "would, in reality, a place which connects with the past, with its lost tradition, and with this, as a place of communication. The idea fascinated the jury of the contest and convinced the company ARENA, which has built and keep it anchored off its facilities over the next five years. During that time this area of \u200b\u200bBerlin is conceived as a place of bars where you can also go swimming, a quality that will cover much of the construction cost.
approach the river, the sand is a path to two large wooden pallets. These connect with the old cargo barge converted into a "boat toilet." The barge, whose size is optimal for swimming by measuring 32'5 long and 8'2 feet wide and just over two meters deep, filled with 400,000 liters of slightly chlorinated water kept at 24 ° C. The engineer of the group, Juan José Gallardo, calculated liquid cargo and the weight of the barge so that, fully loaded, is elevated 70 inches above the river surface. The idea was to match the water level with the edge of the pool so that swimmers would feel completely immersed in the river bed. To do this, and through the openwork curves are added to the air contained in the double casing of these cargo ships, an expanded polystyrene base which decreases the weight of the load and getting the desired offset.
The collaboration of different professionals has become a tradition lost in a poetic experience. With bath mobile on a barge that can be easily transported and anchored at another location, the swimmers have gained a whole new perspective of their city.
"Con-Con" Berlin
The boundaries between East and West Berlin were not drawn only by the wall that now belongs to history. The river Spree stressed that separation and that all bridges in the city - with the exception of Schilling and Weidendammerbruecke - were blown up at the end of World War II. Moreover, the presence of Spree became almost imperceptible in the east of the city.
Since German unification, the government has made tremendous investments in the restoration and construction of new bridges. However, despite the Spree River tour the historic city center or the many bridges that now exist, Berlin has never given the importance of cities such as Paris and London have been attributed to its bridges.
With the aim of establishing literally bridges with its old borders, the "Built Connections 2002" understood the building of new bridges as an interdisciplinary problem. The title "Con-Con" tells the communicative interactions that derive from the union of two poles. It was proposed as a platform for discussion on the significance and function of bridges, both structural and sociological sense, with the aim of making various activities on the bridges and the river Spree that encourage and foster social and cultural relations-city river.
The success of the "boat bathroom" Spree is evident among Berliners. As we wrote Heike Catherina Müller, curator of Con-Con: "They have transformed the banks of the Spree river in a sustainable manner. Many cities are now calling us because they would like to reopen its rivers to the public. "
Winterbadeschiff Berlin
To maintain the use of "boat bathroom" during the winter season, has created a temporary cover, which was first mounted in Fall 2005. This second part of the project belongs Berlin to study architecture Wilk-Salinas. Formed by Wilk and Anna Gilbert Salinas, the young couple worked with AMP in the draft pool, and has since been linked to the execution of works, responsible for intense negotiations with the municipal legislation and the design and construction - literally - the closing of the pool in the winter months.
The deck consists of three bodies, tube light, oriented longitudinally to the pool and wooden pallets. The interior of each tube is determined by their functions: a Lounge on the first platform, a sauna landscape in the second, and pool.
The deck consists of three bodies, tube light, oriented longitudinally to the pool and wooden pallets. The interior of each tube is determined by their functions: a Lounge on the first platform, a sauna landscape in the second, and pool.
The construction consists of wooden arches covered with elliptical fabric of two families. The space between the double layer of fabric is inflated with air at low pressure. In this way you get a good insulation and a minimum deadweight. By using translucent material, and at certain points clear, maintaining a strong relationship with the environment, the walls are removed. You get an open and airy construction.
For building standard materials were used. The details of the connections between elements are very simple to get a quick and manual, no need for cranes. During the summer season this cover is removed to use next winter, or reused as an exhibition hall in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Arena.
The Winterbadeschiff extends the offer of the summer pool the rest of the year. To bathe in the river in front of an urban setting in the winter months, use the sauna and bathing frozen river views.
Captions:
A. Wilk Gilbert (b. 1966) and Ana Salinas (B. 1975) make the study of architecture, having collaborated with Felipe Artengo, Fernando Martín Menis and Jose Rodriguez Pastrana (AMP), and artist Susanne Lorenz, in 2005, with Thomas Freiwald , designed and built the closing of the pool during the winter. Ownership: Kulturarena Veranstaltungs GmbH (www.arena-berlin.de). Contributors: Catharine von Eitzen, Ann-Kristin Hase, Fabian Lippert, Nora Müller.
B. Illuminated at night from inside the pool appears as a Chinese lantern.
C. "Connections Built" has revived the relationship between the city and river by proposing a new place of leisure along the former Berlin Wall.
D. The nineteenth century Berlin offered a similar relationship with the river to form an important part of social life in Berlin.
E. The construction follows the concept of rapid packaging and assembly of the beach, which is a simple metal building with wood decks. Construction work began in February 2004 and the pool was opened in just two months.
F. The "boat bath" consists of four elements: a barge type boat to swim, a beach, a bridge as a connector and container. Together they create a mobile bathroom along the Spree river, in winter, can be used as an ice rink.
G. "Spreebrueke" is the bridge that makes the river Spree livable.
H. From eight o'clock until midnight, in a captivating and isolated from traffic noise, Berliners enjoy this urban oasis in the evening, shows lit with blue and green waters.
I + J. Wooden arches cubiera support of two layers of PVC fabric and distributed inside the Lounge, sauna area and swimming pool.
K + L. Large elements of transparent fabric allow river view.
A. Wilk Gilbert (b. 1966) and Ana Salinas (B. 1975) make the study of architecture, having collaborated with Felipe Artengo, Fernando Martín Menis and Jose Rodriguez Pastrana (AMP), and artist Susanne Lorenz, in 2005, with Thomas Freiwald , designed and built the closing of the pool during the winter. Ownership: Kulturarena Veranstaltungs GmbH (www.arena-berlin.de). Contributors: Catharine von Eitzen, Ann-Kristin Hase, Fabian Lippert, Nora Müller.
B. Illuminated at night from inside the pool appears as a Chinese lantern.
C. "Connections Built" has revived the relationship between the city and river by proposing a new place of leisure along the former Berlin Wall.
D. The nineteenth century Berlin offered a similar relationship with the river to form an important part of social life in Berlin.
E. The construction follows the concept of rapid packaging and assembly of the beach, which is a simple metal building with wood decks. Construction work began in February 2004 and the pool was opened in just two months.
F. The "boat bath" consists of four elements: a barge type boat to swim, a beach, a bridge as a connector and container. Together they create a mobile bathroom along the Spree river, in winter, can be used as an ice rink.
G. "Spreebrueke" is the bridge that makes the river Spree livable.
H. From eight o'clock until midnight, in a captivating and isolated from traffic noise, Berliners enjoy this urban oasis in the evening, shows lit with blue and green waters.
I + J. Wooden arches cubiera support of two layers of PVC fabric and distributed inside the Lounge, sauna area and swimming pool.
K + L. Large elements of transparent fabric allow river view.
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