What should you do if your neigh­bour keeps floo­ding your garden? The reno­va­tion of the Steele outdoor pool in Essen is an extra­or­di­nary story.

Bernd

The Steele outdoor pool in Essen lies directly on the Ruhr River. Although this loca­tion is picturesque, it is also dange­rous during not-uncommon floo­ding events: in July 2021, the “Bernd” low-pres­sure system resulted in the floo­ding of the swim­ming pool and damage to the tech­nical faci­li­ties and the club­house.

Ther­e­fore, the Sports and Swim­ming Pools Depart­ment of the city of Essen, as owners, and Schwimm­freunde Steele 1911, as tenants and users, natu­rally demanded that resi­li­ence to floo­ding events should be part of the recon­s­truc­tion.

The plan­ning was carried out by the Deye Plan­ning Office in Hatten, while the pool basin was built by Myrtha Pools.

River bath

The Steele outdoor pool was founded in 1945 from a river bathing faci­lity on the Ruhr, and is the smal­lest outdoor pool in Essen. After exten­sive reno­va­tion, it was reopened with a ceremony in May 2024 – and it has already passed the test when it comes to floo­ding.

Now it can fulfil its purpose as an idyllic meeting place with in a wonderful setting, as a sports faci­lity for both young and old and as a desti­na­tion for excur­sions for the whole family.

With a water surface of almost 400 m², the combined 25m swim­mers’ and non-swim­mers’ pool is the centre­piece of the faci­lity. It is heated and main­tained at a plea­sant water tempe­ra­ture of around 23°C, provi­ding a comfor­table swim­ming expe­ri­ence even on cooler days.

Contai­ners

The decision to house all of the pool tech­no­logy in contai­ners is also far-sighted and ground­brea­king in compa­rison to similar projects, because they can be taken to safety in good time when floo­ding is immi­nent.

By incre­asing the rein­force­ment of the banks and opti­mi­sing the drai­nage systems, the site has also been desi­gned in such a way that it can better with­stand future flood events. In addi­tion, the outdoor swim­ming area has been rede­si­gned in its enti­rety in order to create a natural barrier against floo­ding.

Topo­graphy

The design of the site also takes the natural topo­graphy into account, and harmo­niously inte­grates the pool into its envi­ron­ment. A large sunbathing lawn with shady trees offers visi­tors peace and rela­xa­tion, while a modern play­ground and a clim­bing course appeal in parti­cular to fami­lies with children.

Since its reope­ning, the Steele outdoor pool has been very popular despite the mediocre summer of 2024, which under­lines its importance to the local commu­nity. Natu­rally, events orga­nised by the very committed SF Steele 1911, such as the annual Steeler duck race, also contri­buted to the pool quickly beco­ming a vibrant centre for sports and leisure once again.