THE FLOATING WATER WORKSHOP

Project: A Classroom on the River, The Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Water Department

5,400 sq. ft. floating platform

Concept and Design Development Completed Summer 2020

Made possible through the ONGOING support of the William Penn Foundation

DECEMBER 2021: Pennsylvania Senator Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia. First Dist.) announced a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant of $3,000,000 to develop The Floating Water Workshop.

The Floating Water Workshop: A Classroom on the River is the latest innovation in watershed education to sprout from Habithèque on behalf of the Fairmount Water Works interpretive center (FWW) and the Philadelphia Water Department. The Floating Water Workshop is envisioned as a 5,400 sq. ft. floating platform anchored on the Schuylkill River near the heart of Philadelphia—an educational asset for the city that will extend the work and mission of the Fairmount Water Works into the river, and into the hearts and minds of the public at large.

The planning and design phase of this project was made possible by the support of the William Penn Foundation.

Project Collaborators:

15 MINUTES INC.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Mark B. Thompson & Associates

Anchor ConsultantS

HANDS ON! STUDIO

Stemann/Pease ARCHITECTure

Handymakes Studio

FABLE VISION

ROOF MEADOW

Bruce BrookS

meliora design

Elizabeth Laurent, Director of Philanthropy, THE FUND FOR THE WATER WORKS

The Floating Water Workshop will serve as a collaborative lab and classroom, dedicated to environmental impact, pioneering research, education, advocacy and global leadership in sustainable urban watershed solutions. Designed as a floating classroom and innovative learning center, The Floating Water Workshop aims to fulfill a fundamental need for education centered on our natural waterways, lending a greater understanding of critical environmental issues through contemporary methods of learning and communications. Constructed with state-of-the-art, sustainable materials, this scientifically innovative learning center will become a prototypical model for water conservation and restoration strategies and renewable energy, while enhancing the aesthetics and natural environment of Philadelphia’s most iconic historic corridor.