Thursday, April 9 – Sunday May 3, 2026
Cooper Union Foundation Building Third Floor Hallway Gallery
7 East 7th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues | Room 315

Open to the general public Monday – Friday, 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM Saturday & Sunday, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Architect Karolina Czeczek and photographer Anna Morgowicz present an ongoing project, Public Pools, which explores the history, architectural form, and social and cultural significance of swimming pools in New York City. Through detailed drawings and photographs, the project highlights five distinct pool types, pairing each with a speculative design or programmatic proposal that amplifies the potential of existing pools and promotes bathing culture. By examining the design and surrounding policies, the project prompts a broader conversation about shared civic space and urban water infrastructure.

The exhibition includes a water map and pool catalogue documenting all public pools in New York City. Through detailed drawings and photographs, the exhibition highlights five distinct pool types: former bathhouses, WPA-era pools, mini pools, vest-pocket pools, and atypical pools. Each type is paired with a speculative design or programmatic proposal that amplifies the potential of this existing civic infrastructure and promotes bathing culture.

These proposals draw on research into global bathing cultures, time spent at each site, conversations with pool users, and investigations of policy initiatives. Together, they aim to foster a broader public conversation about the importance of free, accessible spaces for water recreation while offering a starting point for meaningful change.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Czeczek and Morgowicz will hold a public lecture at the Cooper Union Foundation Building on April 15, 2026, 6:30 – 8:30 PM Lecture location: The Cooper Union, Third Floor Hallway Gallery Room 315F | 7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003

Karolina Czeczek is an architect and Principal at Only If, a New York City-based design practice for architecture and urbanism. Only If’s projects span a range of different types and scales, from single- and multiple-family housing to larger-scale urban planning, research, and speculation.

Karolina is also a Critic at the Yale School of Architecture and has previously taught design studios at the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, the University of Kentucky, Pratt Institute, and the University of Cincinnati.

She previously worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam and Hong Kong. Karolina is a Fulbright Scholar who holds two master’s degrees in architecture and urban design, from Yale University and the Cracow University of Technology, and is a registered architect in the Netherlands and Poland.

Anna Morgowicz is a New York–based photographer working across architecture, interiors, and still life. Her work spans commissioned projects and long-term photographic research focused on the built environment and public space, typologies, and everyday objects as interconnected systems of contemporary life.

She holds a BFA in Photography from the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava, an MA in Sociology from the University of Wrocław, and an MPS in Photography from School of Visual Arts. She also studied at the International Center of Photography and interned at Magnum Photos. In 2019, she documented postwar modern architecture in Wrocław for the book Całe Morze Budowania by Dr. Agata Gabiś, published by the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, Poland.

She collaborates with architects, designers, and cultural institutions, and her work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, Citygroup gallery, Syracuse University School of Architecture, and Milk Gallery, among others. Anna is represented by Esto Photographics.

Project Credits Research, drawings and design: Karolina Czeczek and Only If Architecture
Photography and visual research: Anna Morgowicz
Video: Hudson Lines for The Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY)
Installation Craig Branum, Sofia Gutman, Coco Klockner, Daniel Luo, Natalia Naugle, Saman Nauman, Renato Pasion, Mia Press, Salina Shih, Asa Simms, Ilea Wunder, Kevin Yang
Model Karolina Czeczek/ Only If + Daniel Luo, Mia Press, Kevin Yang