In the coming years, we need to redefine our relationship with water and our daily water consumption patterns. But how can design research help us to do this?
What if?
Introduced by Daniëlle Arets and Bas Raijmakers, both affiliated with the Design Academy Eindhoven, the co-creation workshop Waterproof Futures invited participants to speculate on scenarios we might face in the near future.
Divided into groups, participants had 20 minutes to formulate fitting responses to daunting prospects like: ‘What if rainfall increased tenfold?’, or ‘What if you were only allowed to use 50 litres of water a week per household?’, or ‘What if you were responsible for your own waste-water treatment system?’.
Put to a roomful of creatives, such ‘what if’ questions naturally got the creative juices flowing in no time, provoking plenty of wonderful ideas, though some, upon further reflection, might prove slightly impractical.
Architectural Kidney
A scarcity of water prompted one group to cleverly invert the typical layout of the home. Their solution involved stacking functions according to the need for clean water. The resulting sketch placed the kitchen at the top, below that the bathroom, then the washing machine, and the garden right at the bottom. They referred to this house as the architectural equivalent of a kidney, a system designed to filter water and maximize its use.
Stretching the imagination further was a proposal, inspired by The Truman Show, in response to a tenfold increase in rainfall. One group wooed us with its proposal for a vast dome constructed over our cities, a collective umbrella to keep out the rain.
Rain = Beer
Experts on hand to pass judgement on these spontaneously concocted ideas included Tracy Metz, author of the Sweet&Salt, Arturo Vittori, designer of the Warka Water structure, and Joris Hoebe, the brain behind Hemelswater, a beer brewed from rainwater.
Hoebe himself is living proof that even the zaniest ideas can become reality. As he said himself: ‘When I see rain, I see beer.’
Top photo: Participants working during the session (photo Leo Veger)
WATERPROOF FUTURES was one of seven Activation Sessions exploring the theme of climate action and the economy at WDCD Live Amsterdam 2017.