Play Pump

Project Type:
urban planning design strategy
landscape design
graphic design
industrial/product design
architecture

Project Mission/Goal:
improve the human spirit
increase awareness of the environment and/or address climate change
respond to our growing need for clean water, power, shelter, healthcare, education

Project Description:

While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap (5) makes it easy for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6).

The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance.

©www.waterforthepeople.org

The design of the PlayPump water system makes it highly effective, easy to operate and very economical, keeping costs and maintenance to an absolute minimum. It is manufactured by the South African company Roundabout Outdoor. It operates in a similar way to a windmill-driven water pump.

The sub-Saharan region of Africa suffers from a lack of clean water unequal to any other region in the world and has the highest population of HIV and AIDS victims. The PlayPump offers not only clean water, but potentially life-saving messages that can help prevent the spread of the virus. The PlayPump won a World Bank Development Marketplace Award in 2000 for its effectiveness both at pumping water and communicating HIV/AIDS messages through billboards on the water towers.

Video(s): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjgcHOWcWGE

Links and Captions: http://www.waterforpeople.org/extras/playpumps/how-playpumps-works.html

Project Details:
Project Location:
Date(s): XX to XX
Project Phase:
Client: Villages
User Client: Village residents with deep underground water access
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Concept/Lead Architect(s)/Designer(s): Organization co-founded by Trevor Field
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Contractor/Manufacturer:
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Total Cost/Cost per Unit:
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Nominated by Kirklin Lee