In the bustling borough of Lambeth, a group of students embarked on an interdisciplinary journey within the School of Design which is the biggest single-institution postgraduate design project in the world.
Their mission? To harness the power of design in tackling the pressing issues surrounding our beloved oceans

Assigned to Lambeth, our intrepid team delved deep into the heart of the borough, eager to uncover its unique challenges and opportunities. As they explored, they stumbled upon a troubling reality

the growing desire for a riverside view juxtaposed with the grim reality of sewage and storm outflows tarnishing the waters , exacerbated by frequent flooding.

Undeterred, they pressed on, conducting thorough research and on-the-ground observations. From Uber boats emitting noxious fumes to fungi adorning guardrails and maintenance pipes lining the waterfront, they witnessed firsthand the myriad issues plaguing Lambeth's waterways.

The team realized that the only effective prevention method was the use of residential grease traps. However, while mandated for restaurants, such measures were sorely lacking at the residential level.

With new found insight, the team faced a pivotal decision for their Design brief

1.Do we want to do something for prevention of Fatberg or do we want to design something from existing fatberg?

2.Do we want to design a product or create awareness aboutfatberg?

3.If product,how we want our product to be? Will the productbe a part of their daily ritual? Will our product be easily available?

4.Who are target user group? Do we want to target small scale or large scale?

Together, we resolved to craft a solution and contemplated the following query:

We took this challenge and brainstormed solutions to this problem, took time to understand our users, and approached this with design thinking.  We began with physical prototypes, using 3D printing to create mockups of kitchen sinks and wash bowls.

Then we researched about the materials which can absorb oil but not water such as wooden Sponge material, Foamed material For oil water seperation, sponge from seaweed & Using chitosan derived from crustacean shell. We built some materials to experiment like foam .

We decided to proceed with coconut because its available easily & its sustainable 

Done by Ziru

Our Creation,

SIFT reinvents the kitchen washing bowl for residential users by sustainably capturing FOG. Cooking wastewater is passed through a oleophilic filter membrane made of waste coconut husk fibre. These disposable filters can then be recycled and repurposed as biofuels.

Our Learnings

• Embraced the wealth of different perspectives owing to out multicultural background and discipline
• Open to adapting strategies and approaches based on input from various disciplines allowing dynamic problem solving
• Identified common goals that resonate with all team members and established communication channels to ensure everyone is on same page.

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