In Madrid’s La Latina district, a luminous blue installation by Spanish collective Luzinterruptus commemorates the public swimming pool that once occupied the same space on the Plaza de la Cebada.

When the pool was demolished in 2008, the local government promised residents a replacement would be built within two years.

However, the pool and other planned public facilities have failed to materialise, and recent reports indicate that a luxury shopping complex is planned for the site instead. Meanwhile, the local neighbourhood has appropriated the derelict site as ‘the Field of Barley,’ and place to host community events.

In this context, Luzinterruptus’ installation was planned to remind residents of what the space once was – and what it could be again. The group spent a month collecting 2000 transparent containers and 800 drinking glasses, recruiting a small army of volunteers to arrange them to form a rectangular pool shape. Filled with blue-coloured water and brightly lit, the installation livens up the empty space and symbolizes the communal aspirations of local residents.