Summary

This LUMI water tank was designed and produced by architect and sculptor Katrina Logan of Full Tank. It was designed from a landscape architecture perspective to be an attractive and aesthetically appealing urban alternative to existing water tanks. It was first produced in 1999 and is available in various sizes.

It is rectangular in shape and comprises a generic polyethylene inner water holding tank and a Plexiglas (German acrylic) outer casing. The blue outer casing is UV resistant and glows in sunlight revealing rainwater reserves stored inside the tank. Low energy consumption LEDs (mounted on a thin wood panel at the top of the tank) with a life span of up to 50,000 hours illuminate the tank and water level at night. There are two silver coloured lever taps on the front of the tank. This LUMI tank has a storage capacity of 300 litres.

Physical Description

Light grey plastic cyclinder with black fixings for taps and a black filter on the top. There is an inscription printed on the side and a serial number engraved into the top rim.

Significance

Statement of Signficance:
There are several layers to the historical and technical significance of the LUMI Water Tank. Rainwater collection tanks have been available on the domestic market for many years. The LUMI Water Tank is historically and technically significant because of the motivation for its design and construction. The creation of the LUMI was driven by environmental concerns and was a response to a growing awareness of the scarcity of water. After searching for an appropriate tank for her own home Logan became aware that there was a significant gap in the market in terms of the water tanks available for domestic urban use. The design and construction of the LUMI tank was motivated by Katrina Logan's desire to address this gap, and extend the concept and reality of rainwater harvesting and storage from a purely rural and plumbing context to a contemporary, urban and architectural framework. Logan's aim was to create a visually appealing water tank that would encourage inner city dwellers to adopt rainwater harvesting and water conservation as part of their lifestyle.

The LUMI Water Tank was the recipient of The City of Melbourne Sustainability Design Award at the 2006 Premier's Design Awards. It is important to view the contribution that the tank has made to design and ecological design as well as its historical, technical and social significance. This LUMI Water Tank was displayed outside at the Fitzroy Nursery for 8 months in 2007. The Nursery is known for its commitment to supporting and displaying innovative work of local designers and artists. Hence the display of the LUMI Water Tank at the Fitzroy Nursery is further testimony to the recognition of Logan's innovative contribution to landscape architecture and design as well as to domestic water conservation.

The applicability of the LUMI Water Tank to the Water Smart Home Project lies in the fact that it is an innovative and unique response to drought and water conservation. It provides an alternative to existing products and represents a creative attempt to engage with a specific cohort of the community. The tank documents one of the many responses to drought and highlights the reality that different water conservation products and solutions are required in the general community.

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