Brooklyn creative hub A/D/O and London design curator Jane Withers are teaming up to investigate new and innovative ways of approaching drinking water.
Tackling issues from plastic-bottle pollution to provision in remote areas, the Water Futures programme will kick off in Spring 2018 as part of A/D/O's Design Academy.
Withers, who has dedicated a significant portion of her practice to the topic, will curate the series of events at the venue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

"Drinking water is a charged topic, but little action has been taken to develop viable alternatives," said Withers. "Water Futures aims to encourage fresh approaches and cross-disciplinary collaboration to expand the reach of design and galvanise a more responsive and imaginative approach to water." The programme at A/D/O will span symposia, exhibitions, talks and other curated events.
An open call will allow designers at every level, and from around the world, to submit their ideas and visions for improving how drinking water is consumed and distributed, based on several different themes.

Teams will be asked to present their proposals to a panel of experts, and winning schemes will be exhibited at A/D/O. These will be combined into a research paper once the programme finishes.
Among the issues to be covered is how to phase out plastic water bottles and find sustainable replacements.
"Our reliance on the plastic bottle has developed a toxic drinking water culture that is poisoning the m...