+ Pool, the ambitious project to float a public swimming pool in New York's East River, has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund "Tile by Tile," what will be the largest crowdfunded civic project to date. Those who back the pool will be rewarded by having their name engraved on one of the pool's 70,000 tiles.
+ Pool will filter the river water to give users a clean, safe yet natural environment to swim in and provide space for all types of "swimmers, bathers and hanger-outers" in each of its four sections. The current campaign's primary aim is to fund an in-situ floating test lab which will, for the first time, prove the feasibility of filtering river water by testing various potential filtration systems.
Read more about the + Pool and the growing trend towards crowdfunding after the break...
With 70,000 tiles typically costing around $199 each, the pool's designers say that filling every tile would cover the whole cost of the pool's predicted $15 million price tag. Though the official funding target for Tile by Tile is more modest and covers only the $250,000 cost of the Float Lab, the campaign is already well on the way to reaching this target.
We have previously covered the + Pool's design here and more about its potential impact here.
+ Pool is at the forefront of a growing trend towards crowdfunded projects. This method of funding is proving popular recently because it is a more immediate way to raise funds for a civic project and is more engaging for the people who will ultimately use the design, as they are usually offered a visible record of their contribution in return. Previously we have featured a crowdfunded bridge in Rotterdam and a crowdfunded skyscraper.
