Camping im Aal
Utopian Laundromat
by
La Bonneterie (BE)
With Utopian Laundromat, La Bonneterie rethinks the act of washing clothes, which is usually dependent on an intelligent machine. But is the machine really necessary? When and how did this once public and communal task become an individual and private one? In reply, their installation introduces a new hybrid system of laundry, fusing tradition and modernity, reconciling the domestic task with human sociability.
Through this installation, a communal space emerges, a multi-purpose living space. Like a laundromat in the middle of nature, it becomes the ideal place to float wooden boats, a night-time meeting place, a place to eat and relax, offering a multitude of possibilities. It becomes an inclusive sphere, combining the useful with the pleasurable.
The result is a self-managed space that acts like an ecosystem, enabling people to relearn the process of washing their clothes, a far cry from the simple click of a button. It's a way of learning to do things differently, an initiative to reconcile nature, human technical needs and its longing for community.
How it works
At the heart of this creation is a system of three connected pools. The water circulates from clean to dirty, from top to bottom, while the laundry follows a counter-current path, from bottom to top, immersed in the different basins. The water is then filtered in a main basin before being stored in a separate tank. This mechanism triggers a series of stages, where the stored water passes through a solar water heater and returns to the wash basins, creating a short, autonomous circuit.
La Bonneterie ASBL is first and foremost a place. You make lots of things from wood and metal, learn different techniques depending on who's involved, rehearse, brew beer, print or flock clothes, for example. The site is also home to a wide range of teams who work with groups of people, associations and even institutions on collective projects. Teams from La Bonneterie may find themselves helping to build a mobile living space, blocking off a street to make it pedestrianised, coordinating a march and show, and so on. These are just a few examples of projects that vary as much as the skills of the people who work at La Bonneterie. Because what counts most with us is not the result of the project, but the philosophy behind it.
« Utopian Laundromat »
Concept & Design: La Bonneterie
Designed as part of WaterWalls, Esch-sur-Sûre, 2024
Production : Esch(t)Kultur
Coordination : Services for Creatives
