In March 2023, Dr Liam McCarton and Dr Séan O’Hogain, Principal Researchers from DTC (Development Technology in the Community) Research Group, based in TU Dublin led a workshop for SETU’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th Year students, entitled “Design Water In”, which focused on a sustainable design approach with regards to resilient water and sanitation technologies.

The three-day workshop consisted of four workshop sessions culminating in group presentations in which the participants reviewed and evaluated current student projects against their potential for water neutrality:

Session 1 – The Worth of Water

Session 2 – The Circular Economy of Water “CEW”

Session 3 – An introduction to Nature Based Solutions

Session 4 – Developing a “CEW” masterplan

The RIAI 2030 Climate Challenge (RIAI 2019) promotes a design approach that will save a significant amount of potable water in all buildings, demanding that the use of potable water be reduced by 40% by 2030.

The ultimate goal for architects following this approach is to design buildings towards “water-neutrality”, in which they maximise the harvesting of rainwater, minimise the use of freshwater and release the used water into sustainable drainage systems, by applying nature-based solutions.

As a result of this workshop, staff and students in SETU now better understand the circularity of water as an intrinsic part of architectural design and off-site appraisals, and are able to use simple calculation tools to estimate the potential of rainwater harvesting. This includes a critical review of the common water management, both in terms of supply and sewage, and the anticipation of alternative, nature-based solutions.

Sessions of the workshop including a water purification experiment

A sample of a final group presentation.