Marjetica Potrč
Between the Waters: The Emscher Community Garden, 2010
Building materials, energy and water-supply infrastructure, vegetable garden
Project by Marjetica Potrc and Ooze (Eva Pfannes & Sylvain Hartenberg)
Between the Waters: The Emscher Community Garden

'Between the Waters: The Emscher Community Garden' is a water-supply infrastructure line between the Emscher River and the Rhine-Herne Canal. The project is a complete and sustainable water-supply system. It uses only water from the immediate area: the Emscher River, the Rhine-Herne Canal, rainwater and waste water. By putting the treatment process on display, it shows it is possible to reclaim and restore the natural habitat by using low-tech processes to construct a high-tech system. The main elements of the water supply and treatment installation are two toilets located above the Emscher River (the most polluted river in Germany), a pump that draws water from the river into a septic tank, a constructed wetland, a rainwater-harvesting roof, water storage bags, and a fountain located above the Rhine-Herne Canal that offers visitors water of drinkable quality. In addition, the system provides water for irrigating the Community Garden.

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Marjetica Potrč

Marjetica Potrč (b. 1953) is an artist and architect based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Potrč's interdisciplinary practice includes on-site projects, research, architectural case studies, and series of drawings. Her work documents and interprets contemporary architectural practices (in particular, with regard to energy infrastructure and water use) and the ways people live together.

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