Anthony John Philbrick: When the water gets switched off

This eye-opening talk inspired many delegates to build their own wetland pond or pool. What do you do for water when the water gets switched off and you live in bourgeois middle-class society? A wetland pool is a natural swimming pool where the water is filtered through a wetland to keep it clear.

About TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, ‘ideas worth spreading’. The programme is designed to give communities, organisations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

About Anthony John Philbrick

“Anthony is an architect who qualified from Wits in 1991. He is a founder of the Cool Factory Architects and is responsible for such iconic Johannesburg projects as the Hillbrow Market and the carved timber bollards now repeated extensively throughout the Johannesburg CBD.

Anthony has always had a keen interest in permaculture, and through this he began experimenting with wetland pools. His first pools were completed in June 2005.

Wetland Pools began in earnest in September 2008 and as of July 2010 has completed 12 new pools, 14 conversions, 6 water features and sorted out the water at the tigers cage in the Joburg Zoo.

He lists as his accomplishments, developing wetland pool designs and now running a company installing and converting pools to wetland pools. Why wetland pools? Because it’s what he loves to do. In the core of who he is, he says when I find an opportunity to make a difference, I take it.”

The VIDEO