Geothermal Culture (Pooling Together) is a project that examines Iceland's outdoor swimming culture through the lens of architectural design and climate resiliency. Grounded in an appreciation for geothermal hot water, the project highlights the practice of bathing as an overlap of both technical and social aspects of infrastructural care. The country's development of geothermal energy stems from humble beginnings located in cultural traditions: ways to stay warm, maintain hygiene, and cultivate food. In fostering ways of geothermal living, Iceland serves as a unique site of inspiration for how renewable energy infrastructure can integrate more seamlessly into a decarbonized future that is often only considered through the lens of science and technology.

Using bathing as a specific geothermal subculture, this project presents observations from twelve outdoor pools around the country, mostly located in rural locations. These observations inform the design of a collection of speculative “bathing infrastructures” that use recreation and social benefit as points of desire in a larger imagining of how renewable energy infrastructures can manifest at different scales.