if i was king of england - fuck it - the world, my first job would be to organise the formation of an urban bathing department, the result being the rapid construction of unique structures similar to the ones below on the waterways of every city on earth. why? because they look brilliant and are extremely hard to dislike, even for the grumpiest of twats. they bring life to areas of water that preivously wouldn't have been touched by as much as a human toe. obviously, with the world being as rotten as it is these days, each bathing structure would be home to a discreet but effective 'dirty pervert detection unit' in order to stop the whole thing becoming one big scandal.
seriously. urban bathing is the future.
kastrup sea bath
this circular wooden beauty can be found hovering off the coast of kastrup, copenhagen, its main body perched just a metre above the water and connected to the shore by a wooden pier. the sea bath's shape goes some way to shielding all human flesh from the breeze and its design also caters for wheelchair users. see more photos here.
copenhagen harbour bath
another wooden urban bath can be found in copenhagen city centre, this one called copenhagen havnebad. although not as elegant as kastrup's sea bath, this one appears to be more akin to a waterpark, kids and parents queueing up to fling themselves off a huge wooden staircase as quickly as physically possible. the whole thing is like a waterbased extension of the harbour park and takes advantage of the harbour's incredibly clean waters. see more photos here.
berlin badeschiff
in 2004 berliners were treated to a new attraction on the spree river, in the form of a floating swimming pool attached to wooden decking at the water's edge. the 'badeschiff' was initially an art installation but the locals fell in love with it, the result being a permanent pool that is even covered during the winter, is home to a bar and stays open until midnight. the whole thing looks incredible, especially at night, and is a reminder that a small amount of creativity can go a long way. someone please bring this to manchester. see more photos here.
