Not Your Average Water Fountain
This MoMA sculpture is a beautiful celebration of clean water.
In the United States, we often take clean drinking water for granted. (We even water golf courses and flush toilets with it, which is pretty weird when you think about it.) But many in this world aren’t so fortunate—the United Nations estimates that by 2025, two-thirds of the global population will live in places without sufficient water. So architect Andrés Jaque, who believes his profession can play a political role, created a new sculpture, COSMO, that raises awareness for water scarcity—while doing something about it.
His piece—which won MoMA PS1’s annual Young Architect Program this year and is currently on display at the museum in Long Island City—purifies 3,000 gallons of water every four days. Made out of irrigation components and plant life and designed to be easily reproduced around the world, the working sculpture lights up in dramatic fashion whenever the cycle is complete—because clean water is something to be celebrated, not wasted.
Image courtesy of the architect and MoMA PS1. Photo by Miguel de Guzmán/Imagen Subliminal.comonEarth provides reporting and analysis about environmental science, policy, and culture. All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of NRDC. Learn more or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.