WINNERS of LAGI 2016

LAGI 2016 was an ideas competition to design a site-specific public artwork that, in addition to its conceptual beauty, has the ability to harness energy cleanly from nature and convert it into electricity and/or drinking water for the City. "Regatta H2O: Familiar Form, Chameleon Infrastructure" by Christopher Sjoberg and Ryo Saito has been the winner of the contest, proposing a set of 44 candles made from a high-tech mesh material that is capable of "harvesting" the usual Coastal fog to generate up to 112 million liters of drinkable water per year. Veins on the surface of the candles would serve as collectors of ambient humidity, funneling the collected water to a central mast, which would in turn pump the liquid to a set of storage containers on the shore.

The 2016 design site - Santa Monica City - offered participating teams the opportunity to utilize wave and tidal energies as well as wind, solar, and other technologies.

Now, more than ever, energy and water are intertwined. As California faces severe water shortages in the coming years, the amount of energy required for water production and transmission is sure to increase. For this reason the definition of sustainable infrastructure artwork is expanded to include proposals in 2016 that produce drinking water—either in addition to, or in place of—clean electricity.

LAGI 2016 fits well into the context of the ongoing efforts being made in Santa Monica to increase efficiency of water consumption and to harvest water sustainably. The Santa Monica Pier is currently investigating ways to drastically reduce the use of potable water on site, like the use of recycled seawater for toilet flushing, to take one example.

The City of Santa Monica has demonstrated the ability of sustainable infrastructures to provide an aesthetic and educational amenity for the community through its Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURFF), located just next to the Pier. Visitors to the facility can learn about stormwater runoff, water-borne particulates, filtration processes, and large-scale rainwater reuse at the facility, which treats an average of 500,000 gallons per day of urban runoff (and looks nice too).

Proposals to LAGI 2016 will serve to push the conversation even further and will provide new ideas for innovation. By elevating the vital urban systems that provide our energy and water to the level of public art, we can challenge those who would disapprove of these important infrastructures on aesthetic grounds, especially at sites that are cherished for their cultural value and identity (like the Santa Monica Pier Breakwater).

The jury, composed among others by California State Senator Ben Allen or Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown along with different personalities from the world of arts and sustainability, resolved:

FIRST PLACE:

SECOND PLACE:

THIRD PLACE:

FINALISTS: