Using publicly available databases, satellite photos, and crowdsourcing services, Benedikt Gross and Joseph Lee have compiled the "Big Atlas of L.A. Pools," a 74-volume 6,000 page analysis of every swimming pool in the Los Angeles Basin.
In addition to some intriguing findings ("the typical swimming pool in Los Angeles is oval-shaped and measures 16 feet, 4 inches by 33 feet, 6 inches"), Gross and Lee "discovered something more than just the real-world versions of the iconic David Hockney pool utopias," writes Bob Pool (seriously?!). "Their project also proved that two non-experts were able to take a massive amount of freely available data to peek into other people's lives."
"Lee says the baring of that private realm was unsettling: 'It's an art and mapmaking project that tries to highlight the growing issue of data privacy in our increasingly digitized and inner-connected world.'"
