purification playground

The scarcity of water that informs the design of this proposal is ironic when in the company of such copious amounts of water. Many times, focus is placed on making the purification of polluted water something to be obscured, but this proposal celebrates the ways in which we refine water for public use. Water treatment facilities are often hidden from the public eye, but with the utilization of transparency throughout the design, a symbiotic relationship between human interaction and water—a vital element—becomes tangible. 

Transparency is an integral part of the design, it allows for auxiliary systems to be showcased in a way that opaque materials perhaps could not. Three distinct modes of purifying and transporting water are deployed—dynamic, passive, and active. The dynamic water program is the energetic liquid aspects of the landscape, such as the fast fountains, and drizzle ducts that rain down on the walkway below. The passive water program are the two pools, known as the surface stream and floating flood. Water from the deeper pool flow into the shallow pool and rain through a filtration system that drizzles into an aquifer below. The active system is the fast and slow purification system that continuously refine the water that is used throughout the design. The fast system is a mechanized water refinement system, where water is swiftly cleansed through ducts in order to be used for rapid man-made geysers and artificial rain showers. The slow system is an aquifer that gradually collects fresh water, which is filtered through layers of porous rock. These processes are meant to be observed by visitors, and through the use of transparency, they are. 

Embracing the slightly undulating nature of the landscape, this design bends it glass wings down at it furthest points as to invite the public to explore the artificial terrain. The harsh line between structure and landscape are blurred in this design, meaning one can walk from the Maya Lin-inspired wave terrain onto the tongue of the structure without any hesitation. It’s an incubator that forces the public to interact with the most unglamorous methods of purifying water in a way that can be enjoyed.