Weidinger Landschaftsarchitekten: How is it possible to keep an artificial basin clean, which is used daily by up to 3000 swimmers, without chemical additives? The monitoring of processes in nature and the application to technical questions creates new technologies. The natural modules of the new eco-tech may be used as interesting and aesthetic elements in cityscape. The open air public-bath is situated in the centre of town. All public facilities are within walking distance. The bath becomes part of the “Auenparks” (floodplain-parks), providing contact to the outer nature. The pond south of the bath can be used by sailing or rowing boots. The locker-rooms and maintenance-building are placed to the southern edge, for direct reading of the connection to the floodplain-landscape.

From the cash point, which is arranged at the elevated entrance, you have a view of the whole bath, you can smell and hear the water. A long boardwalk next to the building gives the possibility to walk in a northward direction to the part of activities with beach-volleyball, kid’s-beach, play-runnel and so on. Located southward in between the swimming pond and the other ponds outside is a lawn for sunbathing. The swimming pond features cliff diving, 25m lane, a beach and circle swimming.

The Water from the swimming pond flows into the regeneration pond and is filtered vertically through different layers of sediments where the act microorganisms. Cleaned water is pumped back via the water playground and the “well stones” into the swimming pond. Natural processes of the fresh-water cycle will be initiated and cleanse the swimming-water. We understand “eco- tech” as a new technical standard. Because of that we use modern concepts for free space and architecture, to describe the new relationship between human and nature.

The project was awarded the Architecture Award of the Free State of Saxony 2003.

Landscape Architecture: Weidinger Landschaftsarchitekten
Location: Grossenhain / Germany
Competition: 1. price 1998
Principal: City of Grossenhain
Dimension: 1,6 ha
Completion: 2001
Construction costs: 3,1 Mio €
Architect: Springer Architekten
Foto: (C) Bernd Hiepe/Berlin