Sterkrade Indoor Pool: Even Safer Bathing Thanks to AI

(eap) After around three years of extensive renovation and modernization work, the Sterkrade Indoor Swimming Pool in the Oberhausen city district of the same name resumed operations at the end of May. With an investment volume of around 18 million euros, not only were the technical infrastructure and the building fundamentally renewed, but modern safety solutions were also implemented.

The latter include an AngelEye system that was installed in the swimming pool, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to support the supervisory staff in their work. “The work of our swimming pool supervisors remains irreplaceable,” emphasizes Michael Jehn, who is responsible for municipal real estate, digitalization and the Oberhausen service companies at the City of Oberhausen. “But they can’t be everywhere, they can’t have their eyes everywhere. For example, if there are several school classes in the pool at the same time, if there are many sources of distraction, technical support can make all the difference.” (Learn more about the potential uses of AI in public pools in EAP 3/2024.)

Demonstration des KI-Systems. © Stadt Oberhausen / Tom Thöne

“We have invested around 18 million euros in Sterkrade in order to be able to maintain this traditional swimming pool for the citizens and to make it fit for the future – an investment in quality of life and infrastructure, an investment in swimming, club and school sports that is worthwhile for Oberhausen. I would like to thank everyone involved for the careful implementation of the renovation and modernization of this important leisure and sports facility, the city council for the corresponding resolutions and the pool guests, clubs and schools for their patience,” emphasizes Oberhausen’s Lord Mayor Daniel Schranz.

Originally planned as a partial renovation, the project developed into an almost complete renovation during the work. As officially stated, the reason for this was considerable damage to the pool’s supporting structure: over the years, chloride was released from an open water treatment system under the pool – a system that was state of the art at the time of the last renovation in the 1990s. This had attacked both the pool steel and the surrounding reinforced concrete structure. The exact damage situation only became apparent during the work. As part of the modernization, the entire water technology, safety and ventilation systems, pool circulation systems and floor and wall surfaces were renewed. In addition, the parent-child pool was extended and redesigned and the sanitary areas and changing rooms were extensively renovated. A photovoltaic system was installed on the roof to optimize energy efficiency. Meier Ebbers Architekten & Ingenieure were entrusted with the planning and implementation of the modernization.

“Every refurbishment has its surprises – especially in older buildings. The fact that we had to implement more far-reaching measures in the course of the work was unavoidable from a technical point of view and, above all, in terms of safety and sustainability,” explains Florian Reeh, Operations Manager of Servicebetriebe Oberhausen (SBO), the operator of the pool. “We now have a fundamentally modernized indoor swimming pool that meets today’s technical and energy standards and can be operated reliably for years to come.” ■