Swimmers at Brussels' only open-air pool, FLOW, located in Anderlecht, will soon also be able to unwind in a poolside sauna, the organisation that runs the bathing spot confirmed.
Responding to the need for a public open-air bathing spot in Brussels, the organisation POOL IS COOL opened FLOW, located at the Pierre Marchant bridge in Anderlecht, in 2021. It has since become locals' favourite spot to cool down in the summer months until early September, and as of winter 2023, the 17 x 7-metre pool also welcomes cold-water swimmers.
Now, it is expanding its offering further by opening its long-awaited sauna. "Good things take time. Desired by you and us from the beginning, a sauna will finally be opened at FLOW!" the organisation noted in a statement.
Credit: Pool is Cool
The sauna is being constructed in collaboration with LOCI, the faculty of architecture and urban planning at UCLouvain, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design and the non-profit Oslo Sauna Association, Oslo Badstuforening. Students are now working on the design, and in about one month, the most feasible design will be chosen.
The organisation has long had its eyes on opening a sauna, but plans were abruptly postponed after FLOW was vandalised several times at the end of 2022. Part of the funding it had gathered via Growfunding had to be spent on repair works, postponing the construction of a poolside sauna.
The first visitors will likely be welcomed into the relaxing space at the beginning of June. It will likely have room for eight to ten people.
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In the same statement, the company added that, due to the success of the POOL IS COLD! winter swimming session, which saw more than 1,200 cold water enthusiasts take the plunge at FLOW, the initiative will continue in the spring. This means that the pool will no longer be open solely in the summertime.
POOL IS COOL also announced that the highly anticipated natural swimming zone in one of the ponds in the Neerpede park is a step closer to realisation. The project was granted the building permit and is now awaiting the environmental permit which will define the operating conditions of the swimming zone.
