:: Specific Design Brief

CAT 2: Moving Water

PRODUCT DESIGN UK

GENERIC DESIGN CONTEXT
Moving water from one place to another, particularly lifting it, has been an engineering challenge for millennia and very many different methods have been used to do this. Design and make a system for moving water for a situation of your choice.

SPECIFIC DESIGN BRIEF
There is an ever-growing interest in gardening and many people are building ponds in which they want to have some sort of moving water feature. There are issues of energy and water consumption involved. Design and make a system that will provide moving water in a low-impact and low-cost way.

CLIENT DETAILS
Your first point of contact will be Ann MacGarry at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Contact by email on [email protected] or by phone 01654 705963.

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
• A garden pond adds to biodiversity in your local environment. Species are under threat across Europe, partly because of intensive farming, and therefore gardens have become more important as habitats for wildlife when they are organic.
• Ponds provide habitats for frogs and toads which are useful garden predators.
• If people develop their gardens as pleasant places to spend their time, they will be less inclined to drive to other places for their leisure.
• Pumps powered by solar (photovoltaic) cells are very popular but expensive and fairly energy intensive to make.

FURTHER INFORMATION
KEY QUESTIONS
ISSUES & RESOURCES

If you decide to work on this design brief, don't forget to consider the issues of sustainability in the different phases of your designing and making.
Click here to access Sustain-a-balls