Every month the Ace Hotel in New York displays a new exhibit in the gallery space right outside of our Opening Ceremony Ace location. This month’s installation, Doing Something Big When No One Asks You To Do Something Big, is particularly fascinating. It’s a retrospective based on the four years of research and development that went into creating + Pool—the world’s first filtered floating pool, set to be built in the East River.
Our very own Carol Lim and Humberto Leon co-hosted their first Annual Swim Benefit at Jane’s Carousel in October 2013. We sat down and asked the people behind + Pool a couple of questions about their project.
RILEY GALLAGHER: Just by reading all that went into the four years that got you to this gallery show today, what would you say has been the most difficult part of creating + Pool?
+ POOL: There hasn’t really been a hard part; I mean it’s all hard. There’s just a lot of it. Nothing has been painfully difficult as of yet; it’s just more of a process.
What has been the most rewarding experience thus far?
We jumped into the river this summer. After testing for months, jumping in clean water was huge. It was the first time that any of us had swum in the river.
It never ceases to amaze us how amazing the project can be and it rewards us on many different levels. The Gala was also amazing.; it was our first live fundraiser and it was the first time we had all of our supporters in one group. We had Olympic medalists, artists, architects, designers, politicians, swimmers, and kids. I don’t know if I’m missing anyone but it was really amazing to see everyone in one place and it’s always rewarding to interact with them on such a personal level.
This one day, a very young girl just called our office and asked, “What time does the pool open tomorrow?” because she had seen an image of it at the park. We were like “ahhhh, I’m so sorry it’s at least a few more years away.” It was super disappointing, but in the background you could hear her dad or someone giggling. We were like “that’s so mean,” but overall these individual interactions are always nice. The rewarding experiences range from this grand public scale to small intimate moments. It’s all rewarding.
How exactly did you get this beautiful and depictive drawing straight onto the wall of the gallery?
We did a small draft drawing, the kind of bones of it, and projected that in chunks on the wall. Four of us took a bunch of Sharpies and just basically traced it and then filled in all the detail afterward. One of the tricky things was all of the thought bubbles Archie had to do ahead of time because all of that stuff would go over all of the drawing. All of the details and fun pictures and everything were freehanded afterward. How often do you get to just doodle on the walls? We were actually surprised it looked so consistent with four different people drawing everything.
Cleaning the East River must feel like a daunting task, so it makes sense that you’re starting small. How long (time wise) does it take to filter the river water into a swimmable condition?
We can force it through as fast as we want or we can let the river just filter through at its own pace. Right now we’re cleaning the entire pool every 6 h
Our very own Carol Lim and Humberto Leon co-hosted their first Annual Swim Benefit at Jane’s Carousel in October 2013. We sat down and asked the people behind + Pool a couple of questions about their project.
RILEY GALLAGHER: Just by reading all that went into the four years that got you to this gallery show today, what would you say has been the most difficult part of creating + Pool?
+ POOL: There hasn’t really been a hard part; I mean it’s all hard. There’s just a lot of it. Nothing has been painfully difficult as of yet; it’s just more of a process.
What has been the most rewarding experience thus far?
We jumped into the river this summer. After testing for months, jumping in clean water was huge. It was the first time that any of us had swum in the river.
It never ceases to amaze us how amazing the project can be and it rewards us on many different levels. The Gala was also amazing.; it was our first live fundraiser and it was the first time we had all of our supporters in one group. We had Olympic medalists, artists, architects, designers, politicians, swimmers, and kids. I don’t know if I’m missing anyone but it was really amazing to see everyone in one place and it’s always rewarding to interact with them on such a personal level.
This one day, a very young girl just called our office and asked, “What time does the pool open tomorrow?” because she had seen an image of it at the park. We were like “ahhhh, I’m so sorry it’s at least a few more years away.” It was super disappointing, but in the background you could hear her dad or someone giggling. We were like “that’s so mean,” but overall these individual interactions are always nice. The rewarding experiences range from this grand public scale to small intimate moments. It’s all rewarding.
How exactly did you get this beautiful and depictive drawing straight onto the wall of the gallery?
We did a small draft drawing, the kind of bones of it, and projected that in chunks on the wall. Four of us took a bunch of Sharpies and just basically traced it and then filled in all the detail afterward. One of the tricky things was all of the thought bubbles Archie had to do ahead of time because all of that stuff would go over all of the drawing. All of the details and fun pictures and everything were freehanded afterward. How often do you get to just doodle on the walls? We were actually surprised it looked so consistent with four different people drawing everything.
Cleaning the East River must feel like a daunting task, so it makes sense that you’re starting small. How long (time wise) does it take to filter the river water into a swimmable condition?
We can force it through as fast as we want or we can let the river just filter through at its own pace. Right now we’re cleaning the entire pool every 6 h