WALTER

The Water Alert and Testing Resource

Type: Professional Work - Research | Ennead Architects

Result: Honorable Mention at AIA Insfrastructure Award | 2019

Program: Infrastructure, Object

Location: New York, NY

The Project:

“Our proposal is a spatial device for the communication of municipal drinking water quality within the public realm: a water sampling station replicated and repeated at strategic points along a public distribution system that monitors and relays critical information locally and network-wide. The Water Alert and Testing Resource (WALTER), is a place for people to see the water quality results of the local water line and test samples from their own faucets.” - Elab

What if our infrastructure could talk?

The simple act of measuring and communicating daily water quality—through parameters such as acidity, bacteria, turbidity and hardness—can elicit pride and participation in our drinking water infrastructure. The WALTER project imagines a future where knowledge and participation in our water system engenders a cultural shift toward legibility and accountability, toward stewardship and mutual responsibility.

Water information has the power to influence water consumption, where trust in our municipal drinking water is essential for overcoming the sense of security offered by private bottlers.

By using the existing infrastructure of the 965+ water samplings stations throughout New York City, we can simply replace the top access box with a communicative and technologically-advanced testing system and skin to see these small pieces of invisible infrastructure take on a heroic role in the city.

About EnneadLab: The Lab is a sector of Ennead Architects that actively applies architectural thinking to investigate challenging issues and intriguing design questions outside the traditional boundaries of the architectural practice.

Publications: The Water Alert and Testing Resource - EnneadLab