Enhancing Circularity, Sustainability, and Innovation
Living water
Water’s Second Life: Turning Rainwater into Cooling, Biodiversity, and Shared Public Space
Urban centers face severe water runoff, where rain is treated as waste, while public spaces lack shade and thermal comfort. This project reimagines rainwater as a resource, capturing and filtering it through a low-tech system for irrigation and mist cooling. The structure creates a shaded, pleasant space that encourages interaction, offering a nature-based response to heat stress and urban ecological and social decline.
Croatia
Local
Zagreb
Mainly urban
It involves a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Early concept
No
No
Yes
Individual
The project addresses the urgent need for small-scale public infrastructure that responds to heat stress, water runoff, and ecological and social decline in urban environments. In many cities, rainwater is still treated as waste and discharged rapidly, while public spaces lack shade and thermal comfort, especially in summer. The project redefines rainwater as a valuable resource by transforming it into a visible, functional, and social element that improves microclimatic conditions and supports everyday interaction.
Designed as an open, inclusive structure, it provides a shaded, comfortable space for rest, gathering, and intergenerational use. It is particularly relevant for residents of dense urban areas and heat-sensitive groups, while also offering an opportunity to learn from visible environmental processes.
The concept integrates rainwater collection, natural filtration, planting, and passive cooling within a single system. Rainwater is captured on the upper surface, filtered through low-tech mineral media such as pumice stone, and reused for irrigation and a mist-based cooling system. This combination of shade, vegetation, and evaporative cooling is expected to reduce temperatures in the occupied area by approximately 3–6°C compared to nearby exposed spaces, depending on local conditions.
An earlier prototype tested in Ecuador has demonstrated the feasibility of the system and informed its development. The current proposal builds on this experience through adaptation to European climatic and urban contexts.
The project is now moving toward further prototyping and performance validation through environmental monitoring and user feedback. It aims to demonstrate a replicable, low-tech model for climate-responsive public space that reduces runoff, improves thermal comfort, and strengthens the relationship between people and natural systems.
Designed as an open, inclusive structure, it provides a shaded, comfortable space for rest, gathering, and intergenerational use. It is particularly relevant for residents of dense urban areas and heat-sensitive groups, while also offering an opportunity to learn from visible environmental processes.
The concept integrates rainwater collection, natural filtration, planting, and passive cooling within a single system. Rainwater is captured on the upper surface, filtered through low-tech mineral media such as pumice stone, and reused for irrigation and a mist-based cooling system. This combination of shade, vegetation, and evaporative cooling is expected to reduce temperatures in the occupied area by approximately 3–6°C compared to nearby exposed spaces, depending on local conditions.
An earlier prototype tested in Ecuador has demonstrated the feasibility of the system and informed its development. The current proposal builds on this experience through adaptation to European climatic and urban contexts.
The project is now moving toward further prototyping and performance validation through environmental monitoring and user feedback. It aims to demonstrate a replicable, low-tech model for climate-responsive public space that reduces runoff, improves thermal comfort, and strengthens the relationship between people and natural systems.
The project was initiated by an invitation to an interview with the Municipality of Quito. The interview was focused on strategies for increasing urban greenery and reducing water runoff. Following this exchange, I was invited to contribute to an early-stage proposal, whose core idea became the foundation for this project. Recognizing its broader potential, I began developing the concept further through interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration of its application in different contexts, particularly in Europe.
The development evolved through an dinamic process combining model-making, environmental analysis, and participatory design. Early consultations with professionals from different fields helped define the technical and ecological logic of the system. Furthermore, direct engagement with citizens, first in Ecuador and later in Zagreb, played a key role in shaping the project. Surveys and citizens' interviews highlighted the need for shaded social spaces, improved water management, and better thermal comfort. All this guided the transformation of the concept into a locally responsive climate strategy.
Working closely with the experts from Zagreb, the project was further refined through collaboration with local professionals to ensure its feasibility within European climatic, social, and regulatory conditions. This process allowed the concept to grow from an initial idea into a more context-specific and adaptable proposal.
An earlier prototype developed in Ecuador provided valuable insights into the system’s functionality and enlightened its future development. The current phase focuses on advancing toward full-scale prototyping, enabling performance testing and deeper user interaction. Through environmental monitoring and feedback, the project aims to validate its impact and define strategies for replication in urban areas, most affected by heat stress and a lack of climate-responsive public space.
The development evolved through an dinamic process combining model-making, environmental analysis, and participatory design. Early consultations with professionals from different fields helped define the technical and ecological logic of the system. Furthermore, direct engagement with citizens, first in Ecuador and later in Zagreb, played a key role in shaping the project. Surveys and citizens' interviews highlighted the need for shaded social spaces, improved water management, and better thermal comfort. All this guided the transformation of the concept into a locally responsive climate strategy.
Working closely with the experts from Zagreb, the project was further refined through collaboration with local professionals to ensure its feasibility within European climatic, social, and regulatory conditions. This process allowed the concept to grow from an initial idea into a more context-specific and adaptable proposal.
An earlier prototype developed in Ecuador provided valuable insights into the system’s functionality and enlightened its future development. The current phase focuses on advancing toward full-scale prototyping, enabling performance testing and deeper user interaction. Through environmental monitoring and feedback, the project aims to validate its impact and define strategies for replication in urban areas, most affected by heat stress and a lack of climate-responsive public space.
Prototype
Water resilience
Climate responsive design
Passive cooling system
Inclusiveness
The project aims to establish a regenerative relationship between built space, water, and microclimate through a set of clearly defined sustainability objectives. Environmentally, it mitigates heat stress in outdoor public spaces using passive cooling strategies and vegetation. It reduces reliance on energy-intensive systems and strengthens urban water circularity by collecting, filtering, and reusing rainwater on site. Vegetation supports biodiversity, improves air quality, and adapts seasonally, creating a comfortable microclimate.
On a social level, the structure transforms public space into an inclusive and restorative environment. It offers shaded seating and sensory engagement with water and greenery. Moreover, its small scale encourages social interaction and intergenerational gathering. It also awakens the awareness of ecological cycles, making sustainability tangible and accessible to the community. Furthermore, on the cultural aspect, it elevates the natural cycle into a visible and meaningful public experience, where aesthetic beauty emerges from the integration of function, ecology, and human use.
The project exemplifies sustainability through its low-impact, reused, and low-maintenance materials, passive operation, and modular design. Its replicable, adaptable system allows implementation across diverse urban contexts, supporting broader adoption of climate-responsive, nature-based strategies. By merging ecological performance, social inclusion, and aesthetic experience within one integrated system, the project demonstrates a new model for public space, one that is resource-conscious, regenerative, and environmentally innovative.
On a social level, the structure transforms public space into an inclusive and restorative environment. It offers shaded seating and sensory engagement with water and greenery. Moreover, its small scale encourages social interaction and intergenerational gathering. It also awakens the awareness of ecological cycles, making sustainability tangible and accessible to the community. Furthermore, on the cultural aspect, it elevates the natural cycle into a visible and meaningful public experience, where aesthetic beauty emerges from the integration of function, ecology, and human use.
The project exemplifies sustainability through its low-impact, reused, and low-maintenance materials, passive operation, and modular design. Its replicable, adaptable system allows implementation across diverse urban contexts, supporting broader adoption of climate-responsive, nature-based strategies. By merging ecological performance, social inclusion, and aesthetic experience within one integrated system, the project demonstrates a new model for public space, one that is resource-conscious, regenerative, and environmentally innovative.
The project redifines urban aesthetics by transforming essential environmental processes: water collection, filtration, and irrigation, into a tangible, sensory, and social experience. Shade and refreshment are provided through a combination of misting sprinklers and climbing vegetation, creating a comfortable and inviting microclimate. Instead of concealing infrastructure, it exposes it: water is collected, filtered through natural media of pumice stone, and redistributed to sustain a living canopy of climbing vegetation and low-pressure misting systems. These processes are not only functional but spatially legible, allowing users to witness and understand the cycle of water in everyday life. Turning an infrastructure process into a meaningful, sensory experience and educational part of everyday life.
Vegetation is central to the aesthetic experience: it softens the structure, cleans the air, provides continuous shade, and forms a living canopy that changes with the seasons. This greenery encourages intergenerational interaction, as users naturally gather, pause, and engage within a space that feels alive, tactile, and refreshing.
The structure itself becomes a small architectural landmark, where timber, pumice stone, water, and plants combine to create warmth, texture, and rhythm in the public realm. Its beauty emerges not from decoration, but from the harmonious integration of function, ecology, and human experience. The project transforms into an infrastructure that delights the senses, promotes care for nature, and fosters social interaction and connection. In this way, the project demonstrates that sustainability and climate adaptation can be experienced as visible, poetic, and accessible beauty in everyday life.
Vegetation is central to the aesthetic experience: it softens the structure, cleans the air, provides continuous shade, and forms a living canopy that changes with the seasons. This greenery encourages intergenerational interaction, as users naturally gather, pause, and engage within a space that feels alive, tactile, and refreshing.
The structure itself becomes a small architectural landmark, where timber, pumice stone, water, and plants combine to create warmth, texture, and rhythm in the public realm. Its beauty emerges not from decoration, but from the harmonious integration of function, ecology, and human experience. The project transforms into an infrastructure that delights the senses, promotes care for nature, and fosters social interaction and connection. In this way, the project demonstrates that sustainability and climate adaptation can be experienced as visible, poetic, and accessible beauty in everyday life.
The project focuses on inclusion by getting people involved with the natural water cycle and raising awareness about biodiversity in city planning. Turning rainwater into a visible, shared resource, it makes ecological processes easy to understand and interact with. This approach encourages community responsibility and empowers citizens to take part in restoring urban ecosystems.
Its modular, small-scale design can fit into various physical, economic, and cultural settings. This way, it ensures that environmental and social benefits reach a broad audience. The structure is clear and easy to use: water collection, filtration, and reuse are presented straightforwardly, making the ecological function clear for people of all ages and abilities.
Inclusion is not only part of the design but also the process. Engaging residents and a network of experts, including ecologists, urban planners, engineers, and sociologists, helps to keep the proposal grounded in science and relevant to the community. Surveys and ongoing conversations with citizens influence design choices and enhance community ownership. Following design-for-all principles, the project creates inviting public spaces that encourage comfort, learning, and social interaction. It increases awareness about reducing water runoff, improving microclimates, and valuing traditional knowledge through modern design.
By linking ecological outcomes with social involvement, it builds urban resilience and biodiversity while promoting inclusive governance, where citizens take responsibility for their environment. Future development will continue to boost participation and co-creation, strengthening long-term impacts and ensuring the approach can be replicated in various urban settings.
Its modular, small-scale design can fit into various physical, economic, and cultural settings. This way, it ensures that environmental and social benefits reach a broad audience. The structure is clear and easy to use: water collection, filtration, and reuse are presented straightforwardly, making the ecological function clear for people of all ages and abilities.
Inclusion is not only part of the design but also the process. Engaging residents and a network of experts, including ecologists, urban planners, engineers, and sociologists, helps to keep the proposal grounded in science and relevant to the community. Surveys and ongoing conversations with citizens influence design choices and enhance community ownership. Following design-for-all principles, the project creates inviting public spaces that encourage comfort, learning, and social interaction. It increases awareness about reducing water runoff, improving microclimates, and valuing traditional knowledge through modern design.
By linking ecological outcomes with social involvement, it builds urban resilience and biodiversity while promoting inclusive governance, where citizens take responsibility for their environment. Future development will continue to boost participation and co-creation, strengthening long-term impacts and ensuring the approach can be replicated in various urban settings.
The project development process followed an inclusive method, which involved community members who would use the project as its main design element. The residents and visitors shared their public space usage patterns and comfort requirements, and their urban nature experiences through interviews, site walks, and co-design workshops. The design received direct input from their feedback, which determined the location of shaded seating areas, the selection and arrangement of plants, and the methods used to display water and greenery. The project received input from citizens during the consultation process, but they participated in all aspects of the project. People showed responsibility toward their environment because they learned about ecological cycles and connected with other citizens. The design creates a space that supports natural human behavior through its design elements, which invite people from different age groups and social backgrounds to connect with one another. The project achieved two main outcomes through citizens' engagement because it built a sense of shared responsibility and stewardship while meeting actual human requirements and needs. The project enables users to create active roles that transform public infrastructure into urban environments.
The project engages a diverse network of stakeholders because it requires multiple academic disciplines for its international and community-based development work. My partnership with my professor on Architectural Materials and Construction research work enables me to gain technical expertise while creating a practical prototype demonstration space. The local institutions, which include Zagreb Design Week, provide material resources and operational assistance according to established partnerships from previous projects. The Latin American community in Zagreb participates by sharing cultural knowledge that combines local traditions with their ancestral heritage.
The future users who will be included in the project include residents from the city center and visitors to the main square who experience heat stress and water runoff. The project partners with institutional organizations, which include the House of Architecture in Zagreb and Oris, to establish public visibility while the Holcim Foundation provides support. The project receives technical support from stakeholders who offer expert knowledge and cultural understanding, and material assets, while building community connections that create robust technical solutions with socially responsible design and cultural elements. Their collaboration demonstrates participatory design methods, which the New European Bauhaus principles require because they combine ecological, social, and aesthetic components. The project will follow this network from its prototype stage until it becomes operational because it helps create educational materials that will help cities build resilient and regenerative urban systems.
The future users who will be included in the project include residents from the city center and visitors to the main square who experience heat stress and water runoff. The project partners with institutional organizations, which include the House of Architecture in Zagreb and Oris, to establish public visibility while the Holcim Foundation provides support. The project receives technical support from stakeholders who offer expert knowledge and cultural understanding, and material assets, while building community connections that create robust technical solutions with socially responsible design and cultural elements. Their collaboration demonstrates participatory design methods, which the New European Bauhaus principles require because they combine ecological, social, and aesthetic components. The project will follow this network from its prototype stage until it becomes operational because it helps create educational materials that will help cities build resilient and regenerative urban systems.
The project was developed through an iterative research-led process that combined six different fields of study to solve modern urban problems. I worked as both project initiator and architectural coordinator to bring together different disciplines and project stakeholders through my role as interviewer and discussion moderator, who converted various viewpoints into spatial and technical designs.
The project needed architectural design to create a solution that integrated ecological research with engineering methods to fulfill both environmental demands and social requirements. The team worked with ecologists, urban planners, sociologists, engineers, and agricultural specialists to design all system elements, which included rainwater collection and natural filtration as well as plant selection, irrigation, and passive cooling.
The project needed citizen participation because informal discussions showed people required shaded spaces, which provided comfort and better access to nature. The design team created a socially functional design that uses natural patterns of movement to make spaces accessible to all.
The process required several rounds of testing, which produced better concepts and technologies after collecting input from all stakeholders. The team used knowledge from an earlier Ecuador prototype to create better local adaptations, which enhanced performance and usability. The public infrastructure project achieves environmental benefits through its user-friendly design that maintains high spatial standards while serving as a demonstration of how interdisciplinary research creates practical climate-adaptive solutions for urban design.
The project needed architectural design to create a solution that integrated ecological research with engineering methods to fulfill both environmental demands and social requirements. The team worked with ecologists, urban planners, sociologists, engineers, and agricultural specialists to design all system elements, which included rainwater collection and natural filtration as well as plant selection, irrigation, and passive cooling.
The project needed citizen participation because informal discussions showed people required shaded spaces, which provided comfort and better access to nature. The design team created a socially functional design that uses natural patterns of movement to make spaces accessible to all.
The process required several rounds of testing, which produced better concepts and technologies after collecting input from all stakeholders. The team used knowledge from an earlier Ecuador prototype to create better local adaptations, which enhanced performance and usability. The public infrastructure project achieves environmental benefits through its user-friendly design that maintains high spatial standards while serving as a demonstration of how interdisciplinary research creates practical climate-adaptive solutions for urban design.
The project uses a hybrid, sustainability-focused business model combining public funding, institutional partnerships, and community support. Initial implementation relies on municipal grants, European climate adaptation and public space programs, and contributions from local institutions, foundations, or businesses, which reduce costs while fostering community ownership.
While not yet revenue-generating, the project creates value through environmental, social, and educational outcomes. Future revenue could come from design consultancy, modular system licensing, and collaborations with schools and public institutions. Small-scale pilots may also receive support through research grants or public-private partnerships for climate-resilient urban design.
Expenses include fabrication, installation, planting, irrigation, and maintenance. These costs are primarily covered by municipalities, implementing institutions, or host organizations, with local communities contributing to ongoing care through stewardship activities.
The modular and adaptable design supports scalability and long-term viability, allowing replication across diverse urban contexts, climates, and budgets. Each installation serves as a visible demonstration of low-tech, sustainable urban solutions. By combining public funding, community engagement, and measurable environmental benefits, the project delivers lasting social and ecological impact, creating a model of urban infrastructure that is resilient, transferable, and socially embedded.
While not yet revenue-generating, the project creates value through environmental, social, and educational outcomes. Future revenue could come from design consultancy, modular system licensing, and collaborations with schools and public institutions. Small-scale pilots may also receive support through research grants or public-private partnerships for climate-resilient urban design.
Expenses include fabrication, installation, planting, irrigation, and maintenance. These costs are primarily covered by municipalities, implementing institutions, or host organizations, with local communities contributing to ongoing care through stewardship activities.
The modular and adaptable design supports scalability and long-term viability, allowing replication across diverse urban contexts, climates, and budgets. Each installation serves as a visible demonstration of low-tech, sustainable urban solutions. By combining public funding, community engagement, and measurable environmental benefits, the project delivers lasting social and ecological impact, creating a model of urban infrastructure that is resilient, transferable, and socially embedded.
The project is designed to be highly scalable and transferable by demonstrating how small-scale architectural interventions can integrate environmental performance, social use, and spatial quality within a single system. Its core learning lies in the multifunctional approach, where rainwater management, microclimate regulation, vegetation, and public space are treated as interdependent components of one coherent design strategy.
Developed through a research-driven process, the project translates technical systems like passive water collection, natural filtration, and evaporative cooling into spatial and aesthetic experiences. This approach can be adapted and shared with other practitioners, municipalities, schools, and institutions seeking low-tech, climate-responsive solutions for public spaces.
The project also establishes a participatory and interdisciplinary framework, involving citizens, designers, and ecological experts. By integrating user knowledge, environmental data, and material experimentation, it demonstrates that collaborative processes improve both environmental performance and long-term usability.
Its modular and adaptable design allows replication across different contexts, scales, and climates. The system can be implemented in public squares, campuses, schoolyards, or residual urban spaces, offering a flexible template for cities facing heat stress, limited greenery, or water management challenges.
Beyond technical replication, the project contributes to a broader cultural shift: from mono-functional, resource-intensive urban elements toward regenerative, human-centered, and inclusive environments. The knowledge generated is fields of technology, methodology, and sociology, offering a scalable model for designing resilient, participatory, and ecologically integrated public infrastructure that can inspire similar interventions in diverse urban contexts.
Developed through a research-driven process, the project translates technical systems like passive water collection, natural filtration, and evaporative cooling into spatial and aesthetic experiences. This approach can be adapted and shared with other practitioners, municipalities, schools, and institutions seeking low-tech, climate-responsive solutions for public spaces.
The project also establishes a participatory and interdisciplinary framework, involving citizens, designers, and ecological experts. By integrating user knowledge, environmental data, and material experimentation, it demonstrates that collaborative processes improve both environmental performance and long-term usability.
Its modular and adaptable design allows replication across different contexts, scales, and climates. The system can be implemented in public squares, campuses, schoolyards, or residual urban spaces, offering a flexible template for cities facing heat stress, limited greenery, or water management challenges.
Beyond technical replication, the project contributes to a broader cultural shift: from mono-functional, resource-intensive urban elements toward regenerative, human-centered, and inclusive environments. The knowledge generated is fields of technology, methodology, and sociology, offering a scalable model for designing resilient, participatory, and ecologically integrated public infrastructure that can inspire similar interventions in diverse urban contexts.
For the next phase, the idea is to take this project from a concept on paper and turn it into a real, scalable space that the community actually uses and benefits from.
Here is how we plan to roll it out:
0-6 months - short term
First, I will organise the hands-on workshop to build material prototypes and run environmental tests to ensure the water collection, filtration, and cooling features work perfectly. Just as importantly, the plan is teaming up with local municipalities, cultural groups, and the neighborhood itself. Through hands-on workshops, the space is co-designed so it genuinely fits the citizens' needs.
6-18 months – mid-term
Next, a full-scale pilot project is being built in a public space so people can actually start experiencing it. Once it's up, I'll track how well it performs. I will measure changes like temperature drops, water savings, and plant growth, while also gathering feedback directly from the people who use it. I want this space to act as an open hub for learning, raising awareness, and bringing the community together.
18-36 months - long-term
Taking everything I learn from the pilot, I’ll refine the design into a modular system that is easy to adapt and replicate. By partnering with cities, independent organisations, and public institutions, my goal is to bring this concept to different neighborhoods, creating a wider network of climate-friendly, people-centered spaces.
Ultimately, I am not just trying to build a single structure. I want to demonstrate a new way of approaching urban design, one where helping the environment, welcoming everyone, and creating something beautiful all happen at the same time. It’s about proving that small, thoughtful changes can have a massive, lasting impact on our cities.
Here is how we plan to roll it out:
0-6 months - short term
First, I will organise the hands-on workshop to build material prototypes and run environmental tests to ensure the water collection, filtration, and cooling features work perfectly. Just as importantly, the plan is teaming up with local municipalities, cultural groups, and the neighborhood itself. Through hands-on workshops, the space is co-designed so it genuinely fits the citizens' needs.
6-18 months – mid-term
Next, a full-scale pilot project is being built in a public space so people can actually start experiencing it. Once it's up, I'll track how well it performs. I will measure changes like temperature drops, water savings, and plant growth, while also gathering feedback directly from the people who use it. I want this space to act as an open hub for learning, raising awareness, and bringing the community together.
18-36 months - long-term
Taking everything I learn from the pilot, I’ll refine the design into a modular system that is easy to adapt and replicate. By partnering with cities, independent organisations, and public institutions, my goal is to bring this concept to different neighborhoods, creating a wider network of climate-friendly, people-centered spaces.
Ultimately, I am not just trying to build a single structure. I want to demonstrate a new way of approaching urban design, one where helping the environment, welcoming everyone, and creating something beautiful all happen at the same time. It’s about proving that small, thoughtful changes can have a massive, lasting impact on our cities.
