Design Ignites Change - Projects - Safe Agua Chile (Designmatters)

Art Center College of Design

Led by Designmatters, with the Environmental and Product Design departments at Art Center, the focus of this project was to develop new tools, products, systems and methods of storing, utilizing, transporting and conserving water in order to help break the cycle of poverty in “campamentos” (slums in Chile) and transitional housing communities built by Un Techo Para Mi Pais (UTPM). Directors: Mariana Amatullo, David Mocarski Faculty: Dan Gottlieb, Penny Herscovitch, Liliana Becerra Students: Erica Li, Jessica Yeh, Ramon Coronado, Diane Wei, Stephanie Stalker, Jackie Black, Will Tang, Narbeh Dereghishian, Elizabeth Bayne, KC Cho, Nubia Mercado

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October 5, 2011

Developing new tools for using, storing, and transporting water in order to help families overcome poverty.

Two weeks of intensive field research in Santiago, Chile with families living in campamentos.

MILA is a community laundry facility that aims to save time and effort. Gota a Gota is a system that harnesses gravity to afford families the dignity of turning on a tap to get running water.

ReLAVA is an inexpensive and efficient kitchen workstation for washing dishes indoors. Agua Segura is a family-sized kit for water chlorination and filtration, to ensure safe water for drinking.

Ducha Halo brings the dignity and wellbeing of a hot shower. Índex de Innovación is a strategy for sharing and inspiring social innovation by people in the campamentos.

The challenge of this project was to employ participatory design strategies to address one of life’s most basic needs and affect change in the lives of some of Chile’s poorest families.

After two weeks of intensive research in Chile, Art Center students formed six teams to design and fabricate low-cost, inventive prototypes and systems intended to solve the specific water-related needs they identified with families on the ground in the campamentos.

Safe Agua Chile (Designmatters)

Art Center College of Design

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