The Overflow Oasis: Floating Rain Garden
The Overflow Oasis is a floating park that captures stormwater and transforms it into climate resilience and public benefit. Inspired by ancestral systems like the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, it brings blue-green infrastructure (BIG) into everyday life. Installed in an urban space, it serves as a
rainwater buffer, a biodiverse wetland, shaded recreation area, and educational tool - making water cycles visible, cool, and inclusive.
What issue does your project address, and why do you want to tackle it?
Cities like Zurich face rising floods, heatwaves, and biodiversity loss. Much of our water infrastructure is buried and invisible—missing opportunities for public learning and climate engagement. It mitigates heat through shading and evapotranspiration, restores biodiversity via planted floating wetlands and raises awareness by making the urban water cycle visible.
What is your project about and how does it make Switzerland water-wise?
The Overflow Oasis turns climate stress into climate action. It retains rainwater like a sponge city element, cools its surroundings, and fosters biodiversity—all while serving as a social and educational space.
Visitors experience water as a shared, precious resource. By blending visible infrastructure with public design, it aligns with Switzerland’s goals for resilient water management. It is accompanied by an art installation.
How do you measure your project's success?
Urban cooling: Modeled thermal comfort index improvements
Biodiversity: Modeled biodiversity improvements
Engagement: Media reach and art installation feedback
Scalability: Replication interest from cities and institutions
Who are the people behind the project and what is your secret to a great collaboration?
We are a young, interdisciplinary team blending urban design, engineering, and art education. Benjamin Rist (Intep) brings expertise in sustainability and wrote an award-winning thesis on water stress in Switzerland. He is joined by Konstantina Papadopoulou (Minikus Vogt & Partner), an expert on blue-green infrastructure and inclusive heat mitigation. Julian Fritzsche (Eawag) draws inspiration from his work in East Africa and South America and helps with the concept development. Jana Holland (ZhDK) knows how to communicate ideas effectively through art and Kilian Feller makes sure that our project remains implementable.
