‘Enjoy the Rain' is an innovative Italian sustainable design project, which combines the value of reuse and recycling of end-of-life PVC with water preservation and conservation.
It is one of a number of communication projects, sponsored annually by VinylPlus, the sustainable development programme of the European PVC industry, and run by sector-specific and national PVC associations. The goal? To increase PVC sustainability awareness, while improving knowledge of PVC and recycled PVC.
‘Enjoy the Rain' is promoted by PVC Forum Italia (the Italian Association of the PVC industry value chain) and VinylPlus in collaboration with Milan-based Domus Academy, a world-ranked design and architecture school.
During a five-week workshop, post-graduate design students from all over the world met the design, technical and environmental challenges using recycled PVC in innovative and functional industrial applications, giving life to six projects on the theme ‘Enjoy the Rain'.
‘Rain Kit' includes a range of outdoor PVC street furniture objects, designed to act as ‘accessories' to lamp posts in city streets. As decorative features, they also protect pedestrians enabling them to enjoy the rain while out on the street.
Taking a similar theme, the Superdry multifunctional outdoor street furniture is made from recycled PVC pipes and membranes. It provides shelter from rain or sun and can be fitted with a system for collecting rainwater.
Pipette's rainwater recovery concept features a novel accessory for balconies that re-uses end-of-life PVC pipes and fittings for catching rainwater to water plants and as a bird feeder.
For those who want to enjoy the rain while keeping cosy and dry, the Raindow concept features a PVC frame with a projecting triangular ‘window' floating on the external wall providing a 180 degree view to the outside.
Indra is an outdoor PVC and glass relaxation cubicle with an opening roof that allows users to control the amount of the rain entering the space. It can also collect rainwater.
The final project, RainLAB, is an educational children's game consisting of modules made from recycled PVC attached with a magnet to the outer glass of the window. Internal knobs allow the child to change the positions of the modules from inside the house.