The Waterwall modular tank fence system is rugged and tough. Sustainably designed, and beautiful to look at, the system is engineered to be tough and robust, inside and out.
Thirdspace approached our team with a challenge – to create an eye-catching, modular rainwater tank fence design. The tank walls needed to be strong and rugged enough to withstand extreme pressure created by a large volume of stored water.
As a well-funded scale-up, thirdspace had identified a clear market opportunity for their idea, and had developed a product concept. Their mission was to conserve rainwater in a modular and stylish way, that utilises spaces set aside for static walls or fencing.
A main focus of the tank design was to prevent distortion of the structure when 17.64 KPa of water pressure pushes against it. Each tank contains a maximum volume of 1200 litres of water.
Our industrial designers developed a repeat surface pattern detail for the tank, that doubles as a structural support for the tank walls. It works to evenly distribute water pressure to prevent unwanted bulging.
Mechanical engineers on our team designed and detailed the wall structures, to ensure the narrow and tall water tanks hold their straight sides under pressure. Our experience in engineering products for water systems in agriculture and outdoor environments informed the design.
The sustainably designed water storage system is engineered to be modular and extendable. Multiple panels provide significant water collection volume. Plumbing and irrigation accessories easily attach.
Waterwall is a stand-alone modular walling or fencing system. Each tank is 2466mm long, 300mm wide and 1800mm high. Tanks come in six colours – slate, sandstone, granite, ochre, jade and bluestone.
Spacer panels are fitted between the tanks. Decorative elements and attachments can be added for enhanced visual appeal in a garden or landscape.
Waterwall tanks stand straight and can be installed as a stand-alone feature wall system or boundary wall. Back-to-back installation on a shared boundary is also an option.
Waterwall helps manage urban stormwater run-off peaks and reduces demand on water storage catchments while providing free water to customers.
An innovative and customisable control system provides flexible management of stormwater storage, allowing water to be easily moved around a property.
The key benefit of the Waterwall system is its volume to footprint ratio. The advanced design allows for maximum storage volume within the smallest footprint. This creates new functionality and customisation capacity to a normally static fenceline.
Implementing a Waterwall system not only reduces the impact on freshwater reservoirs but gives back flexible control of water to consumers.
The tanks are rotationally moulded in a tough UV resistant polyethylene. Thirdspace plans to introduce a percentage of recycled polymer, with quantities to progressively increase.
integrating with the water cycle
Typically water tanks are located on a property with one input source collecting from a limited area. Waterwalls allow water capture from a range of sources on a property.
This feature improves the integration of water capture into the natural water cycle and integrates with natural runoff and irrigation technologies.
Rainwater falling on a customer’s roof is piped through to the primary intake wall section in the system and stored. Inbuilt pumps then manage water distribution for re-use.
Once all wall sections are full, excess water overflows into secondary systems such as natural ground filtration, ground surface storage, wetlands, public storage or the storm water system.
We combined our expertise and years of experience in the design of rugged products, and sustainable solutions for consumers, to create the innovative system for thirdspace.
