Water Branch House

WATER BRANCH HOUSE

Exhibition title: MOMA Home Delivery Fabricating the Modern Dwelling
Venue: The Museum Of Modern Art, New York / 11 West 53 Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, NY, USA
2008.07.20 – 2008.10.20
Installation
1.2 m2

KENGO KUMA AND ASSOCIATES

Water block is a piece of plastic tank. By piling them up, you can build anything from furniture to a house. It is very light and easy to carry around. Water or other types of liquid can be stored inside. It is in the shape that each cube of 100×100mm is connected staggeringly so they can be turned into a variety of shapes. Furthermore, it can form a strong structure by joining its concave and convex firmly.

The weight of Water Block can be adjusted by the volume of liquid that you pour inside, and it also can be used as a safe to keep the water for emergency. By connecting the pieces, liquid can flow into the next block and run around within the tanks. By doing so, Water block can function not only as a structure but also as many other roles:
– Thermal insulation
– Network wiring
– Filtering by concave and convex, water purification system with precipitation tank
– Absorbing shock with its soft material
– Lighting equipment
– Storing rainwater
– Greening of wall and floor
– Change its role by the thing you put inside (such as mud, sand, concrete, opaque liquid, etc.)
– Hydroelectric generation

Moreover, Water block is a trial case of using PET, the Hydro/Biodegradable polyester that can eventually go back to the ground. If it is successful, a new sustainable recycling system will be realized that takes the route from a container, to construction material, and to soil.

And I would like to refer you to check out more on neo-modernism by reading

HOME DELIVERY: FABRICATING THE MODERN DWELLING , a MOMA article

that includes a great video of modern dwelling through the years.  Kengo Kuma and

Associates also designed a Starbuck’s in Japan that is out of this world.