LED lights on a plus-shaped installation floating on Manhattan's East River change colour based on the water quality conditions.

+ Pool Light is a public installation executed by local studios PlayLab Inc, Family New York, Floating Point, and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. It tracks and reports the physical conditions of the water off Pier 17 in real-time.
Data collected is displayed on an online dashboard designed by Reaktor that reports whether or not the current water conditions are safe for swimming.

The drifting sculpture measures 50 by 50 feet (15 by 15 metres) and is constructed with a series of LED lights. Its cross-shape is influenced by the continued progress and efforts being made in New York City to improve water quality. "The design recognises the "+" sign as a symbol of positivity, indicating the positive steps we have taken to improve water quality since the Clean Water Act of 1972," said Jeff Franklin, designer of + Pool Light and partner at PlayLab, Inc.
"Conceptually it is also a symbol of inclusivity in that the water that surrounds us belongs to no one single group, but to everyone."
Photograph by Noah Devereaux
The project was produced by Dong-Ping Wong and Oana Stanescu of Family New York, and Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeffrey Franklin of PlayLab, Inc. For several years, they have been working to design and install a floating, self-filtering swimming pool in a Manhattan river called + Pool to pro...