If you happen to be heading to New York this summer, you may want to check out Cosmo, the water-purifying “movable artifact” that’s on display at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
Cosmo was created by Spanish architect Andrés Jaque as way of creating a hidden system of pipes, tanks, hoses, and plants that can filter and purify 3,000 gallons of water in just four days with naturally occurring anaerobic and aerobic digestion and nitrification and denitrification. As the used water travels through a variety of ecosystems, the Cosmo eliminates excess particles and nitrates in order to balance pH levels and increase the level of dissolved oxygen in the water. The H2O is also exposed to UV light, algae, algal turf scrubbers, and vegetal species for further filtration and purification.
And it lights up! The entire design is made of stretched plastic mesh that glows when the water is done purifying. “With Cosmo, the party is literally lit up every time the environment is being protected,” according to MOMA.
The United Nations predicts that by 2025 two-thirds of the world will lack sufficient water. Jaque aimed to combat the issue by designing not only a piece of functional artwork but one that moves and can be replicated for use in other countries.
The goal of his project was to provide clean drinking water, as well as bring people together through his piece of eye-candy.
Jaque was the winner of the Young Architects Program held by the Museum of Modern Art to foster design research and promote rising talents.
The display is only temporary, though. It will stick around at MOMA PS1 in New York until September 7, 2015. Watch Andrés Jaque’s video below (which has some NSFW nudity, believe it or not) and get a visual of the entire system.
