Georgia Baran

The video showcases the designs in context. The islands are placed on produce netting to keep them afloat in the river, still allowing the wind turbine fan to circulate the water beneath the surface & the wetland roots to filter the water. The video captures the story of Water Lungs, what the problem is & how I have responded to it through my design.

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The image presents a top view of the Water Lungs system in action. Showing the islands above the water, mimicking what it would look like if it were in Wilcannia's Darling River.

The short video presents the evolution of the Water Lungs concept, from the first iteration to the final concept. The video shows the progression of the concept through my sketches, going from the original solar-powered idea, to separating the different elements onto two geometric islands, to the final organic islands that are connected via rope to allow the project to flow with the Darling River.

[View full video here]

A close-up shot of the Water Lungs models in context, showing how they interact with each other and with the environments they are placed into. This shot aims to show the scalability and adaptability of the project, showing that it can be placed into different types of water environments and still perform the same way.

The Water Lungs system follows a natural, circular life cycle that keeps the community involved from beginning to end. It begins with sourcing materials & planting native wetland plants, drawing on Barkindji knowledge of the river’s ecology. Once assembled, they are released into the Darling River. Over time, community members monitor & maintain them, replacing or adjusting parts when necessary. Eventually, as the organic elements break down, the modules decompose back into the river environment, while the found materials are recycled, leaving no waste. This cycle not only ensures sustainability, but also reinforces cultural values of caring for Country & maintaining balance with nature.

Water Lungs is a project that can be added to & modified to respond to the needs of specific areas of the Darling River. The many holes on the edges of the islands ensure that more islands can connect to each other to create a system of islands. This allows the Barkindji Peoples to use their own knowledge & instinct to cater to what the river needs, adding more or less of each island type.