Turkish design receives award from Austrian foundation

Developed by Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) Department of Industrial Design Professor Hakan Gürsu for rural communities who suffer from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, the project “Parabosol” was granted an award by the Austria-based Energy Globe Foundation.

Some 1,500 projects from 177 countries were submitted right before World Environment Day June 5.

“This system succeeds in purifying water by using a parabolic mirror which boils water at a high temperature. Thanks to the system that does not require any technological infrastructure, clean water can be obtained in quantities of up to 170 liters in a single use. With the rapid contamination and exhaustion of current water supplies, the water issue has become one of today’s critically important environmental problems, and this affects more than 1 billion people globally,” Gürsu said.


‘Aim to find solutions for global environmental problems’

Gürsu said the Energy Globe Foundation aimed at fostering sustainable projects and applications for global environmental problems.

The foundation is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNESCO and the Austrian Embassy’s Undersecretary of Trade. 

The award by the Energy Globe Foundation has been given since 1999 and is seen as one of the most prestigious environmental prize in the world.