Lifeline - Providing Clean River Water

Technical University of Munich

Project idea

Water crisis is real. Due to climate change the poorest countries of our world suffer the most. This huge inequality shows that there is an unsolved problem that we have to take responsibility for. This project uses the river as a lifeline for reaching many regions that see the water but are not able to drink it. As the need of water varies, every village can create their own combinations of modular platforms and generate their individual community space to filter water.

Project description

Can you imagine living with just 10 to 15 Liters of water per day? That is reality in many areas all over the world.
The ambition to solve that problem inspired us to develop the innovative design which produces clean drinking water for the communities of smaller villages located at the river Niger. A floating structure, filled with “Biosand-Filters“ realises the vision of clean water. The islands construction are made out of heated and pressed plastic waste beams and a layer of concrete on the outside, using recycled materials. The building process will be explained to the locals by an instructor. This enables the locals to use the construction themselves as a community, providing work, demonstrating the collective realm and contributing to an affordable and socially inclusive habitat.

Technical information

Sustainable Construction Concept:
Sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.
By entering the sustainable context in the most natural way possible, we took advantage of the plastic waste exuberance in Africa. The aim is to achieve an innovative “cradle to cradle cycle“ through recycling plastic waste with a high temperature-press technique. This transforms them into exceptionally resistant plastic-beams, which would have a use for the skeleton structure of the boats.
Concrete as a local material is another element that is crucial to this project. A ferro-cement layer system would be the “shell“ of the floating structure.

Water Production Cycle:
In some remote places especially in Africa water is something that people value due to the limited water resources. They are most likely dependent from raining season. The combination of Biosand-Filter by the Foundation called “CAWST“ that filters water without electricity and a bed of self purifying water plants would cover the necessity of clean water per person for UN Standards.
The rivers' current would take the water through water mill, installed on the platform, to a tank that is filled with local aquatic plants. Furthermore the Biosand-Filter system takes over the filtration process to sieve finer bacterias and microorganisms. The aim is to provide the local community more clean (drinking) water above the water consumption minimum value.

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