Prototype of the station (source: Lenka Petráková/Sme daily)
Every year, almost 13 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the ocean. The waste in the ocean is slowly forming another continent.
However, Slovak architect Lenka Petráková is contributing possible solutions to this global problem.
Lenka Petráková
studied architecture at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and at TU Vienna and SCI-Arc in LA
gained experience in Vienna, New York, London
has been working as a senior designer in Zaha Hadid Architects in London for almost four years.
Her design of a scientific station that cleans the ocean, named the 8th continent, was awarded the top prize in the architectonic competition Grand Prix 2020, the Sme daily reported.
Petráková designed a floating station that cleans the ocean and rebalances the sea environment.
“The floating station should collect plastic remains from the water surface and dissolve it into recyclable material,” Petráková told the Sme daily. “Besides the improvement of the water condition, it creates an interdisciplinary platform to show the disturbing side of the sea environment.”
She was inspired by water animals and plants and how they react to the dynamic conditions of the water environment when designing it.
