IN THE BUBBLE JOHN THACKARA - witz cultural

46 Chapter 2
water, and nutrients into action: plant germination, growth, and the production
of oxygen. It is a slow, steady process, but it is auto-regenerative
and chemically efficient. Morace explained that ‘‘BioLogic is a design that
embodies a sense of care. Being based on cyclical principles, it grants the
necessary time for system regeneration while keeping harmful by-products
to a minimum.’’ 56 BioLogic uses phitodepuration (a technique to clean
used waters, which are first separated according to their different origin,
that relies on aquatic and earthly plants—and time—rather than on strong
chemicals and speedy but energy-guzzling electromechanical processes)
with hydroponic plants to renew wash water and fuel cells for power. A
self-contained receptacle containing clothes is low to the ground and
emphasizes the ‘‘garden effect’’: One tends to one’s wash as one would
tend to one’s garden. Instead of a single wash drum, the wash load is distributed
to a number of wash pods, allowing for continuous, overlapping
cycles. Loads of various sizes can be simultaneously accommodated, and
washing can take place as the need arises. A pod may be easily removed,
loaded, and replaced at any time. Rather than remaining an isolated event
in a more or less anonymous box, washing recaptures its lost significance
and becomes part of an ongoing process that can take place anyplace in
the home. In this way, BioLogic creates space, rather than just occupying
it. The sound of gently flowing water, the scent of the plants, and the
glow of lights: All make for a product experienced through the senses and
emotions.
Fluid Time
Another project, Fluid Time, is an infrastructure to enable multiple speeds
in a variety of services. Most of us pass many hours a week waiting for
things to happen: waiting to see the doctor, waiting for a bus to arrive, or
waiting for a package to be delivered. Waiting occurs when our personal
time schedules do not coincide with the schedules of the people and services
with whom and with which we interact. Because both people and
services are in constant flux, precise appointment times are not the most
useful means of coordination. When people are provided with continuously
updated time information about a service or appointment, the activity
of waiting becomes more tolerable. With accurate time information,