"Ce Rêve Bleu", Un Bassin Flottant D'eau Purifiée

Grand Bain is one of the projects developed during the Aquathon Paris 2019 (CRI-Paris, MakerBay, Ifremer, Villette Makerz, OpenFactory UBO.) By 2020, the water of the Seine will be healthy enough for people to swim in. This is the promise made to the citizens. But do this topic concern us enough? How to acculturate us to the water of the river, that we consider as a frame of our pictures? Grand bain is a mini DiY pool immersed in the Seine. It has a filter and pump system that allows it to be installed from the shore and guarantees "bathing water". In the next three years, citizens will get used to swimming in the summer during Paris Plage. At the same time, they will be able to check the quality of the water. Urban water must stop polluting the Ocean. Grand Bain is a functional object that makes the water of the river tangible for citizens, as a living thing that concerns them and that they must get to know and take care of. Here you can find the steps of our first prototype.

The Cutting of a 30 Cm Square on Side

To test our concept in water, and build an aspect mockup, we take a polystyrene plate, in which we trace the square to be cut.

The Creation of the Frame

The bottom is pre-cut with a cutter and a heating tip.

All you have to do is blow him off a thrust

Form the Tank From the Tarpaulin

We start by drawing the bottom of the tank. It is the size of the frame. We will preform the cube that makes up the tank by folding and prepare the edges that we will then fix for the frame. We have too much matter at the corners, and we fold it a little like we do a gift wrap.

Folding, Gluing, Sewing

Now we will adjust the edges of the tarpaulin to the frame. We start by taping the folded corners with tape. Then we drill regular holes (wooden punch, heating point...) in which we pass a strong string. This is our tarpaulin that forms a tank, attached to the frame. We pay particular attention to waterproofing: the edges are wide, and the folds are high enough not to let water through.

The Test in the Ourcq Canal

We are ready to immerse the tank. We need to observe the behaviour of the model (flotation, weight), before imagining the pumps and filters.The test is positive: we fill the tank with a bucket. It is stable and when we empty it, it remains very light. We note that there is little current in the Ourcq Canal. Do not rely on the force of the current to push the water into the tank.