Takram is a design innovation firm.
Explore new possibilities. Crystallize them into reality.
Main Visual

Shenu: Hydrolemic System

Turning artificial organs into water bottles of the future

Shenu is a series of artificial organs designed to conserve the amount of water necessary to sustain human life. It responds to the brief given by an exhibition at dOCUMENTA(13) where Takram was tasked to design a water bottle in a hypothetical, dilapidated earth environment a hundred years in the future.

In a world where the water supply is limited, the water bottle, which presumes the abundant water supply, did not seem a logical solution. Instead, we came to a hypothesis that, perhaps, if the amount of water coming out of a human body can be minimized, it would effectively minimize human water consumption. This problem reframing allowed us to reassess the human body as a water container, leading to the concept of designing artificial organs.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Rubedo Candies: A capsule taken five times a day that supplies 32 ml of water as well as a minimum amount of necessary nutrients and hormones
Image
Image
Image
Nasal Cavity Inserts: Apparatus for keeping water from escaping the body by condensing exhaled breath into dew
Image
Image
Arterial-Jugular Heat Exchangers: Artificial blood vessels for generating electricity using the excess blood temperature to power the Neck Collar
Image
Heat Irradiant Neck Collar: A collar-shaped radiator that cools the body by converting electricity into heat that is then radiated into environment
Image
Image
Urine Concentrator: An apparatus implanted inside the bladder to concentrate urine and send extracted water to the kidneys
Image
Image
Renal Fecular Dehydrator: An apparatus for the rectum to efficiently return water extracted from feces to the large intestines

Information

Project Team

Main Visual
Kinya Tagawa
Design Engineer
Project Director
Main Visual
Kotaro Watanabe
Context Designer
Project Director

Collaborators

  • Design:
    Kaz Yoneda (ex-Takram)
  • Art Direction:
    Moon Kyungwon
    Jeon Joonho
  • Project Lead & Concept Development (until 2011):
    Motohide Hatanaka (ex-Takram)
  • Photography:
    Naohiro Tsukada
  • Figure Artwork:
    Bryan Christie (with the addition of organ rendering by Takram)
  • Special Thanks:
    Form Corporation
    Nichinan Group
    Masaru Nagamine of Nagamine Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Related Projects

View all projects
Thumbnail
Geospatial Rendering In Three.js
Exploration of Geospatial Representations on the Web
Thumbnail
LUNAR CRUISER UX / HMI Design
UX and HMI Design for a Lunar Vehicle
Thumbnail
Connecting with MOTION & CONTROL
Global campaign for mechanical component manufacturer