By Jenny Zeller
Designed by Studio MAYO Architects from Louisville, Kentucky, H2Oh! is an installation that connects visitors at a tangible human scale to the limited water resources on earth.
Based on The World’s Water, a scientific document by Howard Perlman of the U.S. Geological Survey, H2Oh! highlights the relationship between the size of the planet and the volume of water it holds, illustrating how precious and small the amount of water is on our planet while also highlighting how alarmingly fragile and important it is to our survival.
Water covers 70% of the Earth’s surface, creating a distorted perception of the planet’s water volume. In reality, all of Earth’s water—including oceans, glaciers, lakes, streams, underground aqueducts, and the water in living organisms—could fit into a sphere just 860 miles in diameter. This is minuscule compared to the Earth’s massive diameter of 7,917 miles. The coverage illusion stems from the Earth’s relatively smooth surface; the tallest mountain (Mt. Everest) and the deepest ocean (Mariana Trench) only deviate from the surface by 5.5 miles and -6.8 miles, respectively. Therefore, think of the oceans more like sweat on an apple, not as a bottomless volume we can pollute without consequence.
To viscerally connect to this fact and encourage this enlightenment, Studio MAYO Architects created a tangible experience to emphasize the relationship between the size of the planet and the volume of water it holds at a relatable human scale.
A stainless steel ring with a 33’ diameter represents the size of the earth a scale of 1” = 20mi. A 7’ diameter pond, excavated at 12” deep represents the amount of water available on earth. At this scale, the Earth still feels epic at the size of a tree while the volume of water feels quite small like a bird bath.
Studio MAYO Architects is a hands-on, full-service architecture and construction firm. It was a pleasure to work with such professionals in the field and from our region! The onsite fabrication team consisted of Blake Turner, Peter Hall, Max Hickle, and David Mayo.
This experience was made possible by structural engineer, Daley Engineering Services with special thanks to KTC Construction for the use of facilities and equipment.
