Planning approved for floating urban bathing concept in London

A new urban bathing experience based on a barge will open in London’s West India Quay after receiving planning permission from Tower Hamlets Council.

Scheduled to open in 2024, the Blue Mind Barge experience will be housed on a 66m x 6.6m Dutch barge, docked just 50m from the recently opened Elizabeth line, and will offer several bathing experiences and therapies.

Its facilities will include treatment rooms and an alcohol-free lounge, as well as a 25m outdoor natural pool, a sauna offering panoramic views, a cold plunge pool and a 50m floating garden.

Blue Mind

The concept was created by wellness entrepreneur and bodywork therapist Nico Thoemmes, who was inspired by the positive impact that sauna and cold-water bathing can have on mental wellbeing. 

Thoemmes, who also helmed the Morning GloryVille conscious clubbing movement, wanted to create an urban floating retreat, motivated by the recent trend of water-based activities being used to build communities and relieve symptoms of mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.

The name Blue Mind Barge was taken from the work of marine biologist Wallace J Nichols, who coined the term  ‘blue mind’, and defined it as the “mildly meditative state we fall into when near, in, on or under water’.

“Our vision is to deliver a simple paired down offering focusing on what really matters; good sauna, good water and a culture built around the simple sublimity of bathing, fostering healing, connection and inspiration.

“Blue Mind Barge is inspired to nurture a bath house renaissance in the UK,” Thoemmes told European Spa.

Urban floating retreat 

Blue Mind Barge is the first project of its kind to be greenlit for construction. It was designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects dRMM, with the idea of the barge coming from both Thoemmes and architect Alex de Rijke’s experience of living on boats. 

“After a planning process that took two years, we’re thrilled to be able to move forwards and begin fundraising and explore partnership opportunities. Our vision is to launch in London and expand to other water spaces, to create a ribbon of facilities that elevate and celebrate bathing experiences in urban environments and in turn foster meaningful relationships to our mostly underused waterscapes,” Thoemmes added.