AufSeen (On Lakes) – 2005

Project for Schluchsee lake
With Sven Kalden

The AufSeen project is a lake within a lake, fed by the water of the Schluchsee. On this artificial body of water created by damming in the 1930s, making what is still the largest lake in the Black Forest, the project would resurrect the outline of the old, sunken Schluchsee, together with the contours of its former surroundings. In the middle of a floating wooden platform lies the old lake in miniature form. It is a swimming pool filled with water from the new Schluchsee, but heated up to allow pleasant swimming in the cold lake. The plan is to heat the basin with energy derived from the dam. The platform, with steps down on all sides, forms a bridge between the old and the new lake; it can be interpreted both as a topographic landscape around the former lake and as a beach or island in the new lake. After dark, the contours of the platform are picked out in light. AufSeen can be reached by rowing boat or by swimming.