Artist’s impression of the Thames Baths project, which will open next year if planning permission is granted. Photograph: Picture Plane Ltd/Thames Baths Project/image via The Guardian

About The Thames Baths Project

The Thames Baths Project proposes the reintroduction of swimming in the River Thames. The proposals look to re-establish an intimate and playful link between Londoners and this historic lifeblood of the city.

The proposals are focused on London’s Victoria Embankment but could occur anywhere along the River Thames. Imagine swimming in the river, surrounded by reeds that frame tantalising views of the city around you. The Baths are not just for swimmers, but provide refuge and habitat for fish, birds and a wide range of flora.

The Thames Baths Project is all about developing a scheme that is visionary but ultimately achievable.

The ideas were launched in 2013 as part of the ‘London As It Could Be Now’ programme. This was an open call ideas project, developed by The Architecture Foundation with Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and the Royal Academy of Arts.

Architects Studio Octopi and their team were selected as one of five groups to work up new visions for the Thames.The proposals were subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. The Thames Baths has received considerable press coverage including The Guardian, Daily Mail and Time Out London.

In August 2014 the team released their ideas for a floating freshwater pool at Temple Stairs off the Victoria Embankment.

Why the project matters

We believe it is every Londoner’s right to have access to the River Thames. London’s largest public space has been enclosedby roads and buildings that restrict accessibility. We envision a river that safely permits swimming, freeing Londoners from the intensity of urban life and connecting them to the heartbeat of London. Thames Baths Project is our vision for achieving this in a safe and natural environment.

Where the River Thames is the heartbeat the water that flows within it is its blood. This waterway gives life to the most multi-cultural and vibrant city in the world. The Thames has evolved the people of London as much as the people of London have evolved it. We now want to help shape the next evolution.

Swimming has always featured in the River Thames. The ability to do so has become harder and harder as river traffic has increased and London’s population has outgrown the ageing sewage system. However plans are in place to upgrade Sir Joseph Bazelgette’s sewers and therefore dramatically improve the quality of the river’s water. The Thames Baths Project is about imagining the possibilities of safely swimming in the river and opening up a discussion about the future.

We don’t think swimming in the River Thames should be about imposing ourselves on this historic waterway. It shouldn’t be about creating another barrier to the interaction with the Thames. It should be about a structure which sits naturally  within the river environment, filling and flowing with the water that runs around, beneath and over it. Water that revives the senses and nurtures the soul, natural, unfiltered, Thames water.

We believe that it is every Londoner’s right to liberate themselves from the intensity of the city by swimming in the Thames. Our ambition is for this to happen in as natural an environment as possible. Welcome to the Thames Baths Project, please join us to help shape what could be London’s next big cultural project.

In addition,new kickstarter campaign will start next month as related to this project for funding and here is the review of the project published in Guardian:

Artist Tracey Emin to feature in promotional video for campaign, which is looking for £10m in online funding.An online crowd-funding campaign to build a £10m open-air swimming pool in the middle of the river Thames in central London is to launch next month......Continue Reading

> via thamesbaths.com ,The Guardian