ABOUT US - experts for natural swimming pools and ponds

We are a team of landscape architects, technicians, and bioconstructors dedicated exclusively to projects related to water. Our work spans from ground-runoff harvesting, improving infiltration and reducing erosion to the reuse of recycled waste water through constructed wetlands and the use of living water in bathing areas with purely biological purification.
Our main interest is to promote a shift in approach to integrated water management, which is why all our work aligns with the Nature-Based Solutions defined by the IUCN.
https://iucn.org/en/our-work/nature-based-solutions
TheBIOPOOL was founded in 2007 by Stefan Franz Meier, a landscape architect known for his role, alongside other German colleagues, in the field of natural bathing waters on the Iberian Peninsula. The over 40 years of experience from Germans and Austrians in this area, defined in their respective laws and regulations (the German FLL and the Austrian Ö-Norm), combined with the lack of rigorously written material in Spanish or English on the topic, positions these individuals as a connecting link between Spanish professionals and the extensive knowledge already developed in Central Europe. This meeting point occurs through the Iberian Group of Natural Bathing Waters, which actively participates in the IOB (International Organization for Natural Bathing), an international umbrella organization that brings together professionals from the sector worldwide.

Our projects are based on the Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as "actions for the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of natural or modified ecosystems that effectively and adaptively address social challenges while ensuring human well-being and biodiversity."
"A biological pool is an NbS that addresses the safety and health of bathing water from an ecosystem-based approach. It applies natural processes as a foundation to maintain the water in optimal conditions for bathing and reduces the impact of standard treatments, helping to preserve biodiversity through the restoration of aquatic ecosystems."
In each project, our direction is clear in this regard:
- Our planning focus on keeping the ecological footprint as low as possible. The materials used are as natural, local and in production and transport as ecological as possible.
- We always use local plant species, many of which are locally at risk of extinction, thus participating in halting the loss of biodiversity.
- Currently, we continue to conduct and share studies and research aimed at improving water use. In the context of water scarcity that we are experiencing, it is essential to work with comprehensive designs regarding water management.

As ecosystems clearly demonstrate, collaboration and exchange are fundamental parts of a healthy process. We understand this at theBIOPOOL team, which is why we are in constant contact, both on a theoretical and purely practical level, with various social agents. This includes working with public administration regarding the creation of regulations and guidelines in our field, national and international organizations to share experiences, knowledge, as well as the latest scientific advancements and technological developments, or professional colleagues with whom we collaborate on the execution and development of projects.

theBIOPOOL

ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY

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