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August 2, 2012
Q-Drum
Hans Hendrikse and Pieter Hendrikse, 1993
Authors: William Lidwell, Gerry Manacsa
For those living in developed nations, it is easy to forget that a significant percentage of the world population still engages in a daily struggle to access potable water. Purifying water is the first challenge, transporting it another and no less formidable second — and it is the latter problem targeted by the Q-Drum. Pieter Hendrikse comments: "In the early '90s, my work took me through some of the rural areas and villages around Pietersburg and I noticed how the women and children struggled to get the water from the few taps to their homes, in some cases kilometers away. The few who had wheelbarrows used them, but mostly women carried the containers on their heads like in the rest of rural Africa, invariably causing many neck and spine injuries. I thought there had to be an easier way, and eventually me and my brother came up with the idea of the longitudinal shaft or doughnut hole through a cylindrical container. I made a prototype and the enthusiasm of the people in a nearby village was so great that we decided to go ahead with the project."
The form is that of a simple cylinder with a conspicuous hollow at the axis of rotation, referred to as the longitudinal shaft. While designed to be a purely functional form, a wheel reinvented, its elemental simplicity and roundness combine to create a friendly, cartoon-like affect. The body has but one opening, sealed with a threaded lid, which is positioned on a sidewall in contrasting color. It is the lid in conjunction with the longitudinal shaft that gives the drum the appearance of a Q in profile (assuming the drum is in the correct orientation). The drum is constructed of an inexpensive but durable linear, low-density polyethylene.
The drum is transported by looping a rope through the longitudinal shaft and pulling. The longitudinal shaft is a robust, elegant solution — no handles or axles, no moving parts, and a rope can be easily repaired or replaced. Filled with 50 liters of water, the drum weighs approximately 55 kilograms, a rollable load manageable by even young children. The reduced effort required to move the Q-Drum enables children to be active helpers in an important domestic duty, potentially freeing women of the responsibility. The longitudinal shaft serves as a grippable recess for picking up and carrying as well for stacking, supporting filled stacked containers up to forty drums high. The shape affords itself nicely to makeshift application — for example, it is not difficult to conceive daisy-chained Q-Drums being pulled by a donkey or behind a cart, some filled with water, some with fuel, and some with foodstuffs.
Wall thickness is 4 mm, sufficient to resist penetration at towing speeds on flat surfaces, but likely insufficient to resist penetration at runaway speed going down a hill. This is also the one real safety hazard of the product when used on steep inclines — you would not want to be downhill of a filled Q-Drum set free by a broken towline. A filled drum purportedly survives a three-meter drop-test and has been extensively used in rural areas of South Africa and Angola with good results, though for both practical use and safety reasons it is clearly best suited for relatively flat versus hilly regions, and even versus uneven ground.
Jill Butler
Graphic Design
Big problems do not always require complicated solutions, as evidenced by the Q-Drum. By flipping the bright, plastic container on its side and adding a rope, it looks more like a toy than a container designed to help solve serious issues of water transportation in developing countries. The Q-Drum's parsimonious design is perfect for the task at hand. Aside from the cap, there are no removable parts or attachments that might get lost or broken and keep the Q-Drum from working. It also looks fairly easy to manufacture in large quantities and the material looks thick and durable.
Alan Cooper
Technology Design
The elegant simplicity of the wheel combined with the elegant simplicity of the water-tight barrel, executed in cheap and durable plastic, with the added brilliance of an axle made exclusively out of negative space gives the modern technophile reason to take a step back, breathe deeply, and give respect to those designers who can embrace first principles.
Jon Kolko
Interaction Design
The icon of good interaction design for this century, the Q-Drum is a design that recognizes people, experiences and technology; by asking not just, "What can we do?" but also "What should we do?" [Hans and Pieter] Hendrikse have designed to change behavior on a local level as well as a system scale. The pursuit of clean water is a global necessity, and Q-Drum is a simple design that has reduced the emotional and physical burden of those in developing nations.
Vlad Kunko
Industrial Design
It is lacking bling — Swarovski crystals for one. I'm looking forward to its evolution with silver-iode filtration and purification as it is rolled to its destination. There would be less drag if it was slightly narrow-waisted — it would make it more maneuverable as well and spare countless Formicidae (ants).
Source: Deconstructing Product Design
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