Hydria
A water recycling unit that addresses the overconsumption of water in households.
Timeline
September - December, 2020
Role
Team Project
In collaboration with Alhaan Ahmed
Mentored by
Mirko Daneluzzo
Process
Research, Data Visualization, Ideation, Fabrication, Prototyping, Animations, Project Documentation
Redefining our relationship with water
Water in the UAE is heavily engineered, desalinated, distributed, and discarded through a largely invisible system. Despite its scarcity, it is consumed as if it were unlimited.
Hydria explores how design can shift this perception by making water use visible, measurable, and reusable within the home.
Tracing the journey of water
The research began by understanding the full lifecycle of water in the UAE, from desalination to domestic use, treatment, reuse, and return to natural water bodies.
A key focus was tracking how water quality changes across these stages, particularly shifts in pH levels as water moves through homes, industries, and infrastructure.
Probing to trace real data
To better understand the changes in pH levels at a household, a probe was developed by modifying a sink trap to house a pH sensor.
This allowed real-time measurement of water being discarded, providing direct, reliable data without depending on external or estimated sources.
What the system revealed
Combining collected data with system mapping revealed how water behaves across its lifecycle. The map revealed the home as the most critical point for intervention.
Most water is used at home
Daily consumption peaks at the household level, making it the largest point of impact.
Where water quality breaks down
Mixing of water with soaps and chemicals causes the sharpest change in pH, classifying it as waste.
Not necessarily unclean
Discarded water remains reusable for several household activities after simple filtration methods.
A domestic system for water reuse
Hydria is a domestic water recycling unit designed to intervene at the household level. It collects and filters used water through gravel, sand, and charcoal, turning everyday water use into a circular system within the home.
3 stage natural filtration
Gravel, sand, charcoal clean water
Time per cycle
~45 minutes per filtration
Designed for daily use
Fits typical kitchen workflows
Reusing filtered water
Filtered for everyday household tasks
Excess water potential
10–12L of reusable water can be collected weekly, from one household.
Scaled beyond homes
At a building scale, up to 99,840L can be saved yearly.
Designed for the modern kitchen
Hydria blends metal and plastic to create a clean, durable homeware product that fits naturally into everyday kitchen spaces.
Familiar actions like pouring, collecting, and storing water guide the interaction, making the system easy to adopt. The product is designed to feel intuitive, unobtrusive, and ready for daily use.
Scale Prototype
1:3 scale model demonstrating the system
Filtered water output
Water drips into the collection jug
Cantilevered filtration system
Raised structure houses filter and jug
Hydria
Repurposing water at home
Hydria turns everyday water use into a small, circular system within the home. By collecting, filtering, and reusing water, it reduces waste at the point of highest consumption.
The product combines simple filtration with familiar behaviors to make reuse effortless, showing how everyday routines can shift toward more conscious, sustainable water use.