StartupRealities

StartupRealities No 115 ChurchPooling  is a real estate developer which converts disused churches into community swimming pools. The pools designed and built by the company have a characteristic Gothic atmosphere as the structure and interior of the church is preserved in the transformation process and the roof or dome is visible from the water. The foundations of a church usually need to be dug out and strengthened to accommodate a pool at ground/basement level. Fancier projects are sometimes implemented where the water level of the pool is up to 2 metres above ground level, which requires strengthening and waterproofing the walls of the church to support the weight of the water column. CEO QUOTE "We often get asked if we discover interesting objects when we dig inside churches, 'Tales from the Crypt'-style. Occasionally we do find bones in the oldest churches as the church floor was traditionally used for burying nobility and clergy in the Middle Ages. However, most...

StartupRealities No 98 OlympicShip is a sports events organiser which is building an Olympic-size stadium on a giant ship in order to host Olympic Games and World Cup size events. The ship will be moored at different coastal locations for major sports events and will host music concerts for the rest of the year. CEO QUOTE "You've heard about cruise ships converted into hotels to help accommodate tourists during Olympic Games. But the concept of a stadium on a ship is entirely novel. Our Olympic Ship will be a slow-moving barge, as ship technology goes. However, it will be one hell of a modern supersize stadium," said OlympicShip founder and CEO Olympia Shiparova. Olympic Stadium (image source: Wikipedia )