Ripple – A push before the last drop runs out


Registration Deadline

Submission Deadline

Landscapes October 6, 2019 October 16, 2019


Water as a substance has not only been a source of food, energy, but an inevitable part. As the most evolved species, we have manoeuvred resources like water and used it to full potential. We create an ideal scenario in nature with water as an essential feature, overlooking its monotony in our daily lives. Water in its most mundane use such as hygiene, washing, or cooking, is unacknowledged. It is still unacceptable in certain spaces as we have tried to steer it for optimum usage. Water in excess quantities in the form of rain or floods is condemned, it is a form of life and destruction, a contradiction in itself. Water that was available for all is now being claimed, making physical, international and political boundaries. It has resulted in a considerable increase in water consumption leading to the Global Water Crisis.

The global water crisis is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand and is the largest global risks in terms of potential impact over the next decade. An immediate impact of Global water crisis was the onset of water conflicts among nations, states, communities. Are wars the kind of solution we are looking at, and will they resolve the impending crisis of water around the corner?


Water and its importance is well known, still, we have been disconnected from it in urban realms. Water is omnipresent and yet visually hidden while it flows through a dense network below the surface. Lack of interaction with water in such circumstances has to lead us to have no perception at all. Is this due to an anomaly in our perspective or unawareness?

Water is a crucial element to our existence, yet this disengagement is ironic.
How can we establish the role of water as a vital element in supporting human existence? How can we trigger a sense of value that is almost disregarded in our daily lives? How can we find new ways to connect with water in our public spaces while acknowledging its limited supply?

Building on these questions, the design challenge is to propose a model urban public landscape that has the ability to (i.) sensitize its visitors to understand how crucial water as a resource is and (ii.) promote a better sense of consumption and conservation within them.

Visit the Competition website for more information.