Interview about The Vessel Type Water Management, winner of the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award 2025
The Vessel Type explores the integration of architecture and ecology through the design of a sustainable, vessel-like structure. The design responds to seasonal drought and flooding challenges by creating a water storage, filtration, and distribution system that supports both human and agricultural needs. The structure functions as a protective causeway and a communal hub, fostering social engagement and environmental responsibility. It aims to serve as both a practical solution for water management and a cultural landmark, providing resilient infrastructure for the community's future.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe idea began with a question: Can architecture act as both civic infrastructure and cultural vessel? In regions increasingly affected by climate volatility, alternating between drought and flood, I saw an opportunity to design a typology that stores and manages rainwater while also serving human gathering and rest.Early research focused on vernacular precedents: stepped wells in India, Chinese water gardens, and indigenous cistern systems. These informed the conceptual shift; from hiding infrastructure underground to elevating it as a public space. The form evolved as an inhabitable container: a structure that channels rain, filters it through layers of landscape, and stores it beneath.Community use was embedded from the start. I imagined a place where water becomes both resource and ritual where seasonal change is experienced, not abstracted. Through iterations, the project balanced hydrological performance with spatial poetics, allowing for both measurable sustainability and cultural resonance.
The inspiration came from observing how communities in Madagascar live in close relationship with their environment, where survival depends on adapting to extreme seasonal shifts. During the rainy season, excess water overwhelms infrastructure, while in the dry season, scarcity threatens crops and daily life. This dual reality sparked a desire to create a structure that not only responds to these changes, but transforms with them.Rather than resist nature, I wanted to design something that works with it - an architecture that holds water when it is abundant and shares it when it is scarce. I studied traditional ecological knowledge and local materials, which offered insight into time-tested ways of collecting and storing water. From there, the design became a vessel in every sense: a container, a space, and a symbol of resilience. It adapts not only physically with the seasons, but also socially, becoming a space where people gather, rest, and remember their connection to the land.
The combination of concrete and wood was intentional, reflecting both environmental strategy and cultural resonance. Concrete provides the structural durability needed to withstand seasonal floods and store large volumes of water over time. It grounds the vessel, offering permanence and resistance in a volatile climate.Wood, on the other hand, brings flexibility, warmth, and a connection to local craft traditions. It is used in the upper and more human-scaled components where touch, gathering, and adaptation occur. Wood elements can be repaired or modified by the community, allowing the structure to evolve with their needs. This balance between permanence and adaptability supports long-term sustainability by reducing maintenance demands while enabling cultural ownership.By combining materials in this way, the project speaks both to endurance and intimacy that building trust through familiarity while offering resilience through strength. It becomes not just a piece of infrastructure, but a living part of the Ambalorao community.
The decision to use a rural submerged filter system was guided by both ecological logic and social practicality. This technique relies on layered natural materials—such as gravel, sand, and charcoal which are commonly available in the region. These materials are low-cost, require no imported parts, and are already familiar to many rural communities in Madagascar through traditional water practices.The system functions passively, using gravity and sedimentation rather than mechanical pumps or electricity. This ensures that it can operate even in off-grid conditions, which is essential in remote areas like Ambalorao. Maintenance involves simple, periodic cleaning and material replacement, tasks that can be performed by local residents without specialized training.By aligning with local knowledge and resources, the filtration system not only supports environmental health, but also fosters community stewardship. It becomes a technology that is not imposed, but owned. It strengthens both water security and cultural continuity.
The biggest challenge was designing a space that serves as both critical water infrastructure and a welcoming place for community life. These two goals often pull in opposite directions: one demands technical efficiency, the other emotional and cultural resonance. For example, water retention structures typically require depth and containment, which can feel uninviting or even unsafe as public space.To resolve this, I designed the vessel with multiple layers, both physically and programmatically. The deeper, central basin handles floodwater and filtration, while the surrounding upper spaces and shallow terraces remain usable year-round. These spaces become gathering platforms, seating areas, or even performance zones.Another key challenge was ensuring the design remained buildable and maintainable with local skills and materials. The design avoided high-tech systems and instead shaped the architecture through gravity-fed flows, modular concrete forms, and natural filtration beds. This allowed me to blend utility with craft which creates a structure that is functional and feels rooted in the community.Overcoming these challenges shifted the design thinking. It proved that infrastructure can be more than a hidden system. It can be a civic landscape, where environmental care and cultural identity meet.
I began by treating water not just as a technical issue, but as a cultural one. From the earliest stages, I avoided separating infrastructure from experience. Instead, I asked how water systems could shape space in ways that feel meaningful, protective, and shared. This mindset allowed me to approach function and culture as interwoven, rather than competing forces.In practice, this meant designing every infrastructural move with a spatial or symbolic counterpart. The retaining walls that store floodwater also define a gathering terrace. The roof catchment that collects rain becomes a shaded canopy for ceremony or rest. The filtration basin is framed as a contemplative void - visible, cared for, and understood by those who use it.I also worked iteratively with references from traditional gathering spaces and hydrological landscapes. These guided me in making the form legible and dignified so that the community would see the structure not just as a tool, but as a place of identity and memory.By embedding cultural use into the very shape and sequence of water movement, the design allowed both functions to reinforce each other. What protects the community also belongs to it.
Ambalorao faces a dual water challenge: heavy rainfall concentrated in short periods, followed by extended dry seasons. The rainwater harvesting system was engineered to work with this rhythm by capturing high volumes quickly, storing them efficiently, and releasing them slowly for extended use.The roof and upper surfaces are shaped to maximize catchment during peak storms, with a network of open channels guiding water toward a central reservoir. The form itself is designed to slow down runoff, reducing erosion and allowing time for filtration. Below, the main storage basin is lined and dimensioned to hold water for long dry periods, with overflow routes planned to safely discharge excess water into surrounding planting zones.The submerged filter system uses sand, charcoal, and gravel layers that are low-tech and low-maintenance, but highly effective in rural contexts. This allows the system to clean and store water without relying on pumps or electricity, aligning with the region’s infrastructure limitations.Overall, these strategies create a system that is responsive, resilient, and tailored to Ambalorao’s climate - one that turns erratic rainfall into a dependable resource while supporting agriculture, daily use, and public life.
The research began with an in-depth understanding of Ambalorao’s climate, hydrology, and social patterns. I observed seasonal water fluctuations, soil types, and prevailing winds, alongside how community members interact with water and public spaces throughout the year.These insights directly influenced both material and spatial decisions. For materials, I prioritized locally available and renewable resources, such as timber from sustainable sources and regionally produced concrete mixes to minimize environmental impact and ensure ease of maintenance. Wood was selected for elements requiring human scale and warmth, while concrete provided durable support against floods and heavy loads.Spatially, I designed multi-level terraces and flexible platforms to accommodate changing water levels and diverse social activities from daily gatherings to seasonal festivals. The arrangement also reflects traditional spatial hierarchies found in local communal areas, fostering familiarity and ownership.By aligning design choices with environmental realities and cultural practices, the project ensures longevity, sustainability, and meaningful engagement between people and place.
The core principles of The Vessel Type integrating climate-responsive water management with culturally meaningful community spaces that are highly adaptable. Because the design relies on locally sourced materials, low-tech filtration, and passive water flows, it can be tailored to diverse environments with minimal reliance on external resources.For other communities facing seasonal drought and flooding, the vessel’s modular form can be resized or reconfigured to match specific rainfall patterns, cultural practices, and spatial needs. Its layered terraces and multifunctional zones encourage both environmental stewardship and social cohesion, fostering resilience at multiple scales.Moreover, the project’s emphasis on visibility and participation invites communities to reclaim water infrastructure as a shared resource and identity. This approach can inspire physical adaptations and shifts in how societies perceive and engage with water management globally.
My advice is to embrace complexity without losing sight of human experience. Successful integration comes from understanding that environmental systems and social life are deeply intertwined which do not separate design problems. Begin by listening closely to the communities you serve and studying their relationship with the land and resources over time.Prioritize low-tech, locally appropriate solutions that empower users rather than depend on external expertise or costly maintenance. Seek materials and methods that respect place and culture, while ensuring resilience to changing conditions.Finally, treat infrastructure and public space as inseparable. Designing spaces where functionality becomes meaningful and where care for the environment also nurtures community identity. This mindset opens possibilities for architecture that sustains and inspires.
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