Prague mayor refloats the possibility of a floating pool on the Vltava

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib on Twitter expressed support for a floating pool in the Vltava river. The idea was first proposed in 2017 but never implemented.

Hřib is now dipping his toes into public opinion to see what level of support the project now has.

“Would a floating pool according to a design by Petr Janda / Brainwork suit Prague? I'm interested in your opinion. Myself, I say yes! Why? A unique and attractive recreational place would be created directly below the Vyšehrad cliff. [It would be] a beautiful endpoint in the public space of the promenade along the Vltava,” Hřib tweeted this morning.

The comment was a follow up to a tweet yesterday saying that Prague was gaining international fame for its public projects, “I have long sought EU support for the revitalization of public spaces throughout the city. We have already managed to negotiate CZK 4 billion from EU funds, even for locations outside the center,” he said, adding concept images of the Vltava pool, but not mentioning the project by name.

The floating pool is designed to resemble a two-level ship, with an upper deck made of wooden slats for lying and sitting. Below that there will be three pools: one for children, one with water jets, and one for swimming. A footbridge connects the pool to the embankment. The water in the pools will be purified and treated to make it suitable for public use.

Brainwork is the design studio behind the revitalized cubicles with round windows at Náplavka, which were recently shortlisted for the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

Preparations for the floating pool are more advanced than Hřib’s tentative tweet suggests. “I asked Vít Šimral, councilor for education, sports, and leisure, in cooperation with the Investment Department, to take all necessary steps to prepare for the implementation of this project,” Hřib told news server Pražský patriot.

The mayor previously wanted the floating pool to be outside the city center, perhaps in Holešovice, but now favors the original plan. “Architect Janda convinced me that the chosen place under the Vyšehrad cliff is really the best. It has the natural potential to extend the cubicle project,” he said.

The cost of the floating pool was originally estimated at CZK 70 million to CZK 100 million, but now would likely be twice that. City Councilor Jan Chabr, responsible for property management, questions whether the project might be too expensive in light of the city’s current finances. “We will not find CZK 200 million for implementation, at least not this year,” he said recently when this year’s program for the waterfront was announced.