Ooze designs water treatment plant in Germany
Rotterdam and Paris architects Ooze have collaborated with artist Marjetica Potrc to design a community garden and water treatment plant on an island in Essen, Germany.
Named as ‘Between the Waters’, the project collects rainwater, waste water, and water from the adjacent EmscherRivert and Rhine-HerneCanal. In this plant, the water is cleaned and processed in a visible installation, educating visitors about the entire process.
This installation was opened as part of The Emscherkunst 2010 event that would continue till the end of September 2010.
The vicinity of the project begins next to the Rhine-HerneCanal, where the visitors can enter from the CommunityGarden. It further leads to the water supply and treatment installation situated uphill. The project concludes at an elevated platform over the EmscherRiver dyke.
Between the Waters is a complete and sustainable water-supply system. The project utilizes water only from the immediate the EmscherRiver, the Rhine-HerneCanal, rainwater and waste water.
The major elements of the water supply and treatment installation are two toilets that are situated above the Emscher River, a pump that draws water from the river into a septic tank, a constructed wetland, a helophyte filter, a rainwater-harvesting roof, water storage bags and a fountain located above the Rhine-Herne Canal. The system also provides water for the irrigation of the CommunityGarden.
The project, which spreads over an area of 1000 square meters, highlights the fact that a natural habitat can be reclaimed and restored with the use of low-tech processes for the construction of a high-tech system. This is a mobile project that can be replicated on other locations.
