WaterLab is a Public water treatment plant that uses coagulation and flocculation methods to treat the contaminated water of river Irk. Visitors are exposed to the six stages of water treatment where each stage is designed to catalyse interaction between people and water.
The project is born from a continuous discovery of Irk Valley, it's past and potential futures. Impulsive decision making in the past has led to Irk’s desertion, places which only benefited from capital growth have turned into obsolete artefacts which are studied to anticipate a healthier future for the people and place. The journey across the water catalyses thought about said impulsiveness, everyday routines, and the futures which we are building. As the water is cleaned gradually, visitors go through a process of un-learning routines which led to the poisoning of the natural water cycle.
At the end of the journey, the visitors are encouraged to interact within the idea theatre, designed for non-disciplinary discourse and debate where water is at the foreground of the decision making. The Lab is an instrument for understanding the past and potential futures of Irk Valley, where the community is thought to live with water rather than fight with it.
Technology is only part of the answer to our challenges with water. What is missing is our relationship with it. How will life change as our relationship to water transforms?
