Flussbad Berlin: the canal transformed into a natural open-air public pool
In central Berlin, a neglected canal is being reimagined as a natural public swimming pool. Flussbad Berlin blends ecology, activism, and urban regeneration. A poetic and radical act that invites the rediscovery of water as a space of community.
Where urban water dreams flow again
In the heart of Berlin, beneath the bridges of Museum Island, lies a forgotten branch of the Spree. Stagnant water, no access, no place in the city’s daily rhythm.
But a group of visionary citizens saw potential: to bring the canal back to life as a vibrant space—an open-air natural swimming pool, cleaned by plants and accessible to all.
This is the spirit of Flussbad Berlin: a project that blends urban regeneration, ecology and inclusiveness, offering a new way to relate to public space.
A self-cleaning river
The core idea is elegant and radical: cleaning the water using nature itself. A 300-meter section of the canal would become a natural filter, with plants and sediments acting as organic purifiers. The treated water would then feed into a long urban pool, where people could swim freely in the center of the city.
No chlorine, no concrete—just the quiet power of Nature woven into the urban fabric.
An open-air civic laboratory
Flussbad is not just an environmental project—it’s also an educational and community space, a civic and pedagogical platform. The idea draws energy from the city itself, weaving together activism, public art, participatory design, and urban learning.
The foundation leading the project actively involves schools, universities, artists, urban planners, and everyday citizens in collaborative processes that focus on the right to public space and the recognition of Nature as a shared common good.
Through workshops, temporary installations, community events, and guided walks along the canal, Flussbad becomes an open-air civic classroom, where water is understood not just as a resource, but above all as a relationship.
It’s a process that cultivates collective care, a sense of belonging, and shared responsibility toward the environment.
In a Nutshell
Flussbad Berlin is an ambitious urban regeneration project in the heart of Berlin, aiming to transform a neglected stretch of the Spree into a natural public swimming pool.
Led by a nonprofit foundation, it brings together architects, activists and everyday citizens around a shared vision of water as a space for community, beauty and ecological renewal.
Because even a forgotten canal can generate currents of connection with water, joy and collective regeneration.