The „Werkstatt Frankfurt e.V.“, a municipal organisation, intends to revitalise the park called „Licht- und Luftbad“ (spa for air and light) which it operates in the Niederrad area of Frankfurt. Among other measures, a very important feature is the realisation of a refreshments and snack bar. The „Licht- und Luftbad“ is situated on a peninsular on the southern bank of the Main river. As a landscaped park on the waterside it has a special quality. The peninsular lies in the flooding zone with an assumed 1.50 m flooding height at a calculated fifty year flooding interval. The site and the increasing flooding problems as a result of climate changes are the starting point for function and form.
The concept envisages the new restaurant as a swimming building. The form of this steel body is developed as a sculpture from the association with „everyday pontoons“. Correspondingly, the steel body of this pontoon is actually made in a shipyard and is indeed buoyant. The transformation moves in a boundary zone between an apparently everyday commercial vehicle/pontoon and a minimalized formal activation. At first appearance, apparently sitting high and dry on the lawn, the pontoon gives a paradoxical impression – however on second sight it reveals the character of the site as an island and flooding zone.
The pontoon suggests the process of being stranded, of becoming buoyant and potentially swimming further. In fact, the pontoon is actually moored to dolphins so that it could not swim off. The flooding phases are principally in winter. During this period, the park is closed and the main stairs to the pontoon and folded up and the pontoon is secured for winter. According to the finishing of ships the interior fittings are developed as an independent inner casing. As a result a spatial progression of hull, intermediate space/ storage space, inner casing and interior is formed. In the pontoon, there is a sales counter providing snacks and refreshments for the whole open air ground, a kitchen, rooms for staff and a WC complex. On the roof/ sundeck, there is a „terrace“. During the summer, there is a „driftwood terrace“ in front of the pontoon.
