The below is a NON EDITED article / proposal from 2005 - however still relevant - potential topic for a RSI LAB and DO-shop  

The AQUA-culture experience - a story about water

THE AQUA-CULTURE EXPERIENCE - A STORY ABOUT WATER

Submitted by npf on Tue, 2005-05-24 15:49. Aquaculture / short edit Oct. 2021

Introduction:

  Where on earth are we SWIMMING???

We have everything and we don’t really need anymore – or do we? Haven’t we lost a sense of time and emotions? And don’t we want to buy or rather get back our lost lives?

Today our physical surroundings have to a very large extent lost its emotional relevance, and many people feel more and more alienated in their homes and its surroundings.

Physical structures of the future need to focus on humans, their emotional needs and possibility for creating relationships. What we have to do is to emotionalize and make our surroundings “holy”,  “sacred” or “giving sense (story telling)” again. Throughout history humans have believed in sacredness in everything. You thanked the gods for everything and they were with you everywhere.

We are not going to build temples, but we must understand and recognize the need for “emotional relevance” in our physical structures of tomorrow.

We are on our way to the experience economy. Technologically have come to a stage where we don’t depend on each other anymore and with help of the technology we can have all our desires fulfilled.

If we see what the web is being used for (this might be a fast conclusion) it seems like the only thing that really matters is relations – relations among humans and relations to what is important in life – we could also call it connectivity – its becoming increasingly important to feel connected to other people, society etc. The Internet demonstrates this by the extensive use of chats and sexpages (as I said a fast conclusion), and also sites where you can find old friends, contact pages etc. are extremely popular. With UMTS (new mobile broadband) we see cameras build into mobile phones and people start to communicate even more in real-time - there's a need for contact among humans, we are tribal creatures.

The industrial society demanded workers in the mines to live right beside the mines, making life miserable not only because of the hard work, but also because of the pollution in the area and the follow-diseases etc.

In tomorrows society we don’t need coal. We don’t need to live in badly designed areas in cold and uncomfortable houses close to the big factories. And the factories do not need to pollute and they don’t need humans either… We can choose - especially in the industrialized part of the world.

We can also choose to continue living like we did before – at least with the same prohibitions, traditions and in the same pattern BUT in new surroundings where everything is automated and where we literally live just as comfortably being a cripple in a wheelchair as being a normal well functioning human being. But are we sure we want to live this way?

THE AQUA CULTURE PROJECT

Vision

We all are living more and more in our small secluded worlds - and the more technology we get the more we make basic elements of life obsolete. Work, in the future, will be a commodity than a real profound need for making a living. Technology or machines will take over and leave us with the things in life that we really want to do - OR it could leave us with a big and empty space of feeling lost in loneliness.

The vision of AQUA-culture is to help us find our roots in our local community through profound and pragmatic activities which we do everyday anyway.

The vision of AQUA-culture is also to create a respect for one of our most common yet most valuable resources - water. The daily use of water for purposes such as bathing, washing, cleaning, drinking etc. are all commodities which we consider basic in our modern world, but billions of people worldwide have no or limited access to clean water.

The AQUA-culture project proposes a kind of “Temple for water” - a modern facility which will bring back the respect and the joy that this one of our most valuable resources can add to our daily life - since without water there's no life.

AQUA-culture is no museum, where you go to see and study water.

- it’s not a water cleaning facility.

- it’s not a restricted area where you gain access to a scarce resource for various purposes.

- its the opposite - AQUA-culture is a place where humans can meet, enjoy and revitalize daily and at the same time do practical matters that we need to do in our lives - everyday if we want. AQUA-culture is a place to worship water and indulge in water at the same time - and through that learn not only to appreciate water but maybe also get to know your fellow beings in your local community and through that maybe also yourself.

”Lonely riders”

The demand for housing in the future will be very different from now, due to factors like the high divorce rate we are witnessing today.

According to Copenhagen Institute for Future studies more and more people will live alone as ”lonely riders” and still more will live in new ways where, for instance, a mother and father get divorced but still live very close to each other because of the children.

For the “Lonely-riders” the new public water houses could become a very important part of their social life.

The well

Still at many places people get together again around the well or at the banks of the river or a lake - everyday - in order wash, bathe and of course to be together. The well is an almost archetypical place for being together, a place where community flourishes and where life matters.

With private washing machines, personal Jacuzzis etc. have we not lost some of the life that the community could bring us? The well has been substituted by pipes and the social life at the well by bits and bytes speeding through optical cables or spread wirelessly via mobiles and satellites in outer space.

Generally, a lot more sharing will probably be part of tomorrows living. We will share washing machines, deep freezers, various kinds of transportation vehicles and other appliances. Not due to the economic and ecological aspect, but rather because the places where this “sharing” or “exchange” will happen will be natural REAL “meeting / chatting” points that encourage and allow expected increased need for social interaction to be met (Lonely riders can get lonely too) – informal places for casual encounters – just like we once met at the side of the river or at the well getting water….

We will design our physical surroundings for this very natural need and we will probably see places such as laundries, bathhouses, new types of (HEALTH) dance clubs, diners, kiosks etc. becoming part of a new phenomenon called AQUA-culture.

Humans are tribal creatures

We see a growing interest for public baths, water- lands, fitness studios, spas etc. in the industrialized developed hemisphere. We still want to be together - after all.

In a world where we are getting more and more isolated in front of computers, behind the steering wheels of our cars and so on, there is an opposite trend or need for being more social again - our tribal instincts require facilities to satisfy this need.

People need people, most of us need to be tribal, at least from time to time - but on the other hand as seen through the 70’s and 80’s, community houses where the only purpose is being together is getting lesser attention. We want to be together but we need a purpose - a social excuse - more than the pragmatic practicalities of cooking fx.

The AQUA-culture project proposes that a totally new way of looking at the home as part of bigger environment is on its way. Obviously not as seen earlier but in ways which enhance the social networking and comfort in the close surroundings of the individuals - RESPECTING the individual.

AQUA-culture proposes a new perspective to bathing, personal hygiene and personal well-being - a revival of the Roman baths in a modern version, a facility where humans can be tribals without loosing identity.

-and humans are spiritual creatures

For centuries we have seen spirituality being part of the life of homo-sapiens. Today it fits very little in our lives. The well or the churches and temples were the focal points together with the markets where people met. Today the churches are empty, the markets and wells have gone too. We have lost contact with nature and with the real world which makes these incredible things happen.

The AQUA-culture project will become a kind of modern temple for a responsible hedonist and in some ways it would also become a place where water as the scarce and “sacred” resource is appreciated, BUT without being pretentious or “holy”.

Humans need quality and content in their lives, and this is what AC will give in a subtle and sophisticated way. There is nothing religious about the AC-project, but it will be a place where you will feel naturally welcome, where you rest, rejuvenate and even meditate while doing your daily necessities.

It is a place where you will encounter water in ways you probably haven’t done before - you will feel how gentle and incredible nature can be.

It’s luxury bathing.

It’s a place where all can meet in neutral surroundings and debate, discuss, massage, make love or whatever we like to do together as humans.

AQUA culture could become a place where water and nature becomes the mediator for peace and understanding between humans.

The vision in short is

- take a swim and make a better world...

A BIT OF BACKGROUND FOR THE AQUA CULTURE VISION / CONCEPT

What is the content in our new lives where we have so much time that we don’t know what to do with it – apart from making money from each others’ need for killing time?

Could we re-create or re-invent quality in our lives through our physical structures, the places where we live / work – and could companies be part of setting the agenda for the new “quality” – could commercial activities or lets call them experiences - show a different face to the world through projects like AQUA-culture development or other projects that will create (sustainable) solutions rather than new problems?

The answer is YES. Companies can and have to – Businesses of tomorrow need to be definers of tomorrow’s world and they need to take chances… it demands a lot of work and a lot of risk. But it will certainly be a worthwhile investment - new markets will be defined and new products will appear.         

In the midst of a world that is becoming increasingly overpopulated etc. we are in a situation where we have to try to come up with new scenarios for a sustainable future. There is no doubt that technology can make enormous contributions to the growth of a new AND sustainable (experience) economy.

BUT technology can also have its disadvantages. We have to be critical and quality conscious. We need to debate on what kind of future we want – not just swallow any kind of new technology we get available.

2021 - To take an example of a part of an industry that could – if they want have a positive effect on society – working together and developing new innovative concept - companies working in the field of bathrooms, tiles, water management, washing machines etc  -  companies can pave the road for the new – and they have to if they want to be a part of and show new and better solutions or experiences. And tomorrowas solutions are not just based on economic profit, but on emotional profit too – meaning solutions aimed at making the world better for the majority.

The experience economy demands “emotional quality control” and an overall creative approach to projects of the future.

Rolf Jensen, former director of the Copenhagen Institute of Future Science, puts it this way:

”This acceleration of social development gives us reason to surmise that our present societal type will not last for many more years. Microsoft and IBM - icons of the information society - will certainly stay in the Fortune 25 for many years to come, but sometime in the 21st century, Fortune's list will be dominated by companies that sell emotions and stories - companies appealing not to the brain but to the heart”.

The living of tomorrow is a heart matter not a business matter.

Rolf Jensen goes on:

“In Scandinavia, you can buy Shaker kitchens. They take us back to a time when values were fixed, when you were able to get a grasp of the world. A Shaker kitchen is practically designed, but we purchase one because of the values that go with it”.

It is not enough to sell nostalgic images nor just new technology in the future. Our present values will probably thrive for another couple of years and then the real need for compassion, understanding of connectivity, emotional intelligence etc. will show its face. A wish to manifest ourselves through our “new economy” or our new world. A natural wish to be humans.

The future needs real, human content…we need to tell real stories that we can relate to on a much more profound level than Disney and the other global entertainment industries provide us with today.

The material decadence has to end in order to create new and meaningful immaterial as well as of course material products and services for the future. And this affects everything, including our “places for living”. Ordinary living in the future needs strong visions and concepts in order to be accepted and saleable – especially to a new very demanding and trendsetting generation - the young urban cosmopolitans - but also to the rest - probably the biggest challenge: the approx. 4 billion poor of the world.

By developing products and services that consider the demands of both, the rich and the poor it will be possible to create true sustainable solutions - and make them very profitable too. It just demands holistic creative minds and companies willing to invest in the future.

LINKS to companies or organizations “paving road”:

www.interfaceinc.com - the world's largest producer of commercial floor coverings.

www.neweconomics.org - a pioneering organisation which promotes ethical and sustainable economic activity

www.rmi.org - the Rocky Mountain Institute - famous American organization promoting a more sustainable lifestyle

www.zeri.org - ZERI promotes the design of agricultural and industrial production systems which generate no waste.

www.naturalstep.org - Natural Step - organization dealing with sustainable practice for companies.

http://www.worldwaterforum.org/ - international forum for water

http://wbcsd.com/# - World Business Council for Sustainable Development - the organization formed by the 120 biggest companies in the world.

AQUAculture history

Historically there has been AQUA-culture all the time.

For as long as we have existed, we have been dependent on

water for drinking, bathing, washing, cleaning, playing, religious purposes and much more.....HOWEVER today almost all water worldwide is polluted....

The earth can't exist without water - we can't survive without it.

For as long as we have existed, activities around water have been the natural meeting point. The well, the bathhouse, the spa, the laundry......but it’s not so anymore.... We need to reinvent ways of living with water again, which match modern life. Not just because we need to preserve water, but also because we need to develop new ways of living with less materialism and at the same time live better.

We have gathered around the well or waterhole for centuries and millions still do, let’s look at history and learn from it.

History - The roman baths

The Public Baths in Rome were extremely popular. Roman citizens tried to visit the baths at least once every day. The baths had hot and cold pools, towels, slaves to give massage, steam rooms, saunas, exercise rooms, and haircutting salons.

There were reading rooms and libraries too for the freeborn. There were stores, selling all kinds of things and fast food. The baths could seem like very large malls, with pools.

The baths were very popular and people loved them. At one time, there were as many as 900 public baths in ancient Rome. Small ones for about 300 people - big ones for 1500 people or more. Some Roman hospitals had their own bathhouses too. Attending the bath was a very important part of the life of the ancient Romans.

History - The hamams

Hamams as the Turkish and mid - eastern baths are named, are for many aspects of health, not just for external cleanliness. Before the Romans, Byzantines and nomadic peoples of the mid - east had their own variations of bathing rituals that they brought with them to Turkey. These different variations created the Turkish Bath or hamam.

Here the bather enters the dry heat of a sweating area where he begins to perspire heavily because of a wet steam. The skin is then washed with soap and warm water and the muscles massaged. After being scoured and washed, the bather's body temperature returns to normal from swimming in cold water.

Closely interweaved with everyday life, as well as the Muslim tradition for cleanliness and respect for the varied functions of water, the hamam is getting increasingly popular worldwide and will be seen in new variations - same as it arrived from namely a history of bathing in ancient cultures .

History Japan

Japanese bathhouses have a long tradition starting out with mixed bathing in the many hot springs to be found in Japan and later in public bathhouses.

These public bathhouses were community meeting places where people gathered to gossip and exchange news as well as wash – although in the 19th century, the sexes were separated.

These days, most Japanese homes have their own bathrooms, however natural Hot Springs (onsen) and bathhouses (ofuroya) are still very popular in Japan and are widely used as not only a way of bathing but also a way of connecting locally.

AQUAculture - trends

Utilitarian Form

We are seeing an enormous interest in esthetics as a substitute for the real story. We are buying products and solutions that look nice but have no real content. This is one of the big problems of modern consumerism. Companies continue to produce short-sighted profit making gadgets, knowing subconsciously that it will hit right back in the neck in years to come.

Many companies will probably experience lawsuits, but also drastic decrease in sales when the consumers realize the consequences of years of materialistic over-consumption has had. The biggest problems will come for those who will not be able to produce relevant beautiful stories. And relevant means more than just satisfying a greedy need for profit based on providing entertainment non-stop 24-hours. Form must become an essential part of modern product development again, but it must not be left alone as purely form. The AQUA-culture project proposes utilitarian form - form that works and has identity.

Sensuality / sex

The products of today are full of erotic substitution and sexual stimuli. We constantly look for sensual stimulation, whether this is healthy or not is not to be discussed here. Fact is that products sell better when they are sexy, and when erotic elements are used with respect it can create some extraordinarily beautiful situations, products, services or whatever and it can be of major stimulation for humans, not just for sexual purposes, but for emotional development - and humans need to be stimulated emotionally. The AQUA-culture project is intended to respect human needs for being in sensual environments.

Technology, ecology and the world

Modern humans live in a world where technology, ecology and pollution is a part of life - we LOVE technology, we live with ecology and we hate pollution.

Today we care – but only to the extent that it does not make life too complicated. The future will bring such big problems that we can't imagine now, we have just seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “environmental hangovers”.

To make sense in the future, business should not only understand ecological (physical) needs but of course also emotional (virtual??) needs.

The impact of our wasteful lives will be visible and transparent in many ways and for an increasing number of people it will be difficult to understand and live with. Many will probably start to feel guilt.

We already see “Animal activism terrorism” and we will see a lot more of environmentally and  emotionally RELATED terrorist activities in the future - the Luddite movement will probably be back.

Whether it is weapons, cigars, porno or mobile phones or whatever – everything will need to be designed and made as eco-friendly as possible - all technology of the future will be biodegradable.

BUT at the end of the day it’s the quantity and quality that matters. Too much of anything is a pollutant – whether biodegradable or virtual. Living in a Virtual Reality-world all your waking hours, maybe even when you sleep, will probably kill you at some point - as would eating 5 kilos of eco-carrots a day. What we are looking for is equilibrium – a balance – of quality and exciting lives. The AQUA-culture facilities or systems will help in reorganization in nature compatible ways- it will be a place where nature and technology will meet in a stunning symbiotic marriage - hopefully.

Nature-tech

 Nature is nature – but our way of using nature changes all the time. NT is a “new” way of looking at nature. Here nature is accepted for all the things in life it can help with, it is profoundly (deeply) understood and not just “used” without understanding the consequences. Why spend billions on chemicals and the building of chemical plants, which have proven to pollute, destroy and in general create enormous problems, when nature itself could solve most problems with a little help from humans. The natural world will always survive; the question is whether we or our cultural / virtual world will.

By studying, understanding and respecting nature, it is possible for humans to find new innovative and “natural” solutions to everything from pest-problems and famine to ventilation in buildings or new plastics. It’s possible to solve almost any problem today with alternatives to the often very problematic “petro-chemical (non-renewable) solutions”.

Companies / organizations such as ZERI-Industrial symbiosis projects (www.zeri.com), Perma Culture (www.permaculture.uk), Bio Organic farming, organic farming (www.IFOAM.com) etc. are showing what  “Nature Tech” could be - in the AQUA-culture context Nature-tech is about using the right techniques and materials.

New medicine, cleaning products etc. are also part of the new “modern” nature wave. Companies like Body Shop have already shown how fast “alternative thinking” can become mainstream.

New companies are popping up all over the planet, offering natural medicinal products, therapies etc. to cure all kinds of diseases, based on serious research which in turn is based on natures own principles.

A few examples of projects related to THE AQUA CULTURE PROJECT

VISION WOODY2 - golf to the people

In Japan 25% of the population plays golf. It's a mega billion dollar business and also a mega billion dollar polluter. Billions are first spent to make the grass green and then to stop the acid rain or else the “global-warming-sunshine” would make it brown again. It’s one of these practices that make no sense. Japanese want to experience nature and the same time creates an enormous environmental bomb. There are more than 5000 golf-training facilities in Japan, where you can exercise on a driving range standing in up to 3 to 4 floors.

This project is not only a better design, but functionally superior and environmentally it would become a masterpiece integrating every possible eco-feature without anyone noticing - just noticing how attractive the place is.