Imagine a world in which freshwater is scarce. How would we live in a waterless world? This concept was explored in the recent Waterless World competition. Participants were asked to propose conceptual ideas to mitigate and cope with the effects of a water crisis in our cities, landscapes, and rural areas.

A team of INFORMers submitted their visionary concept using the Hawaiian land division system, the ahupua‘a, as inspiration. Ancient Hawaiians relied on the ahupua‘a system to be self-sustainable, each landscape segment spanned from mountains to the ocean to provide enough varied resources for its community to survive.

The team’s concept, The Wai (water) Pavilion, was designed to provide its community with food, freshwater, and a leisure public space through Mala (gardens), Kauhale (dwellings), Lo‘i Kalo (taro fields), and Loko i‘a (fishponds). The pavilion not only provides the means to survive but also to thrive. The main feature of the pavilion is its ability to produce its own cloud to provide freshwater to the crops and drinkable potable water.

All entries were evaluated on set criteria, including innovation, communication and relevance, and we’re pleased to share that the InForm team’s concept was recognized as a finalist! View their entry here.