Nominee | Young Professionals – RADO Star Prize | 2019
The Drinking Hydrant
With “The Drinking Hydrant” the designer Dimitri Nassisi presents a new type of fire-fighting water hydrant, which can also be used as a source of drinking water, in addition to its main fire-fighting function. The new hydrant uses the available infrastructure and the fact that fire-fighting water hydrants are directly connected to the drinking water supply system in Switzerland. The existing hydrants are given a new head fitted with a trigger switch. This means that passers-by can drink directly from the hydrant or choose to fill a container with drinking water. The surplus water is collected and directed into a reservoir at the foot of the hydrant, where it can be used as a watering trough for animals. The blue colour of the drinking hydrant is a reference to its purpose and is also used as an identifying feature. The large black trigger switch guarantees intuitively understandable operation of the device, which – above all on hot summer days – has the potential to substantially increase urban quality of life.
Comments of the nominators
The idea of a drinking hydrant is as original as it is convenient. It gains plausibility because it was able to build on an existing and regularly tested piece of infrastructure. It can’t be disputed that the drinking hydrants would improve urban quality of life. Whether the municipalities will want to invest in the proposed design to make locations more attractive and whether it will satisfy practical requirements – such as with regard to resistance against wilful destruction – still waits to be proven.
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