Regensburg Public Pool to Turn into Immersive Venue

(eap) Rethinking interim use: Regensburg’s indoor swimming pool on Gabelsbergerstraße is due to be renovated. Until the time comes and the relevant approvals have been granted, the Stadtwerk Regensburg and Kulturoptimisten GbR have developed a special usage concept: From 18 September 2026 to 10 January 2027, the indoor pool is to be transformed into an immersive experience space. With “Pixel Ocean”, a show for children and adults that has already been presented in Zurich, Geneva and Lucerne, the swimming hall will be turned into a giant digital aquarium. In the evening, the artists of Zurich-based Projektil will use “Masterpieces” to bring sacred architectural masterpieces to life through multimedia.

The empty pool basin – fitted with carpeting and numerous beanbags – will become a spacious reclining area for deep-sea fans of all ages. The walls and ceiling of the swimming hall will be transformed into a luminous underwater world using 360-degree video mapping. Accompanied by a narrator, visitors will embark on a 36-minute immersive journey of discovery into the mysterious deep sea, to a colourful coral reef, through a kelp forest and into the vastness of the open ocean.

© Roman Beranek

In the experience, younger visitors in particular will learn more in a playful way about four different ocean habitats as well as the challenges facing this hidden world, including overfishing and waste. The production thus combines wonder and knowledge transfer to create an impressive journey of discovery. After the show, children can colour in underwater animals on paper in a specially created art studio in the former relaxation room and bring them to life virtually. The fish and seahorses are scanned and then swim through the swimming hall together with the other sea creatures.

In the evening, visitors to “Masterpieces” will find themselves beneath Michelangelo’s famous ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel, immerse themselves in the colourful sea of light created by the Gothic stained-glass windows of Paris’ Sainte-Chapelle, or experience projections of the Sagrada Família and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex. In addition, regional artists and musicians have been invited to create their own soundtracks for the animated masterpieces. ■