Naturvation

Animated video about Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

For the second short animation in our ongoing work with urban sustainability partnership Naturvation, we dived into the world of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). SUDS is the practice of using natural processes within architectural design to manage and control rainwater and groundwater run-off for the benefit of residents and the local environment.

Using the Malings development in the Ouseburn Valley as a case study, the animation outlines some of the design features used by SUDS to transform groundwater from an inconvenience into useful facet of the built environment. In the case of the Malings, groundwater is channelled through a series of pebble beds, which act to scrub the water clean of any chemicals or impurities. The water’s then channeled through the development’s shared spaces, including residents’ gardens and community allotments, and finally through a ‘rain garden’ full of super-hardy vegetation which absorbs water and in this way controls the flow back into the river Ouse.

Naturvation involves 14 organisations across Europe, including governments, NGOs and businesses, working in partnership to explore nature-based solutions to urban problems with the aim of helping us move towards making cities more sustainable and less damaging to the environment. We look forward to working with Naturvation on the third instalment of this project!