Red Bird Water Kiosk Pavilion _ Clean Water Clean Life

Architecture has the power to strengthen community bonds, support a healthy life style and enrich individual lives. The Red Bird Water Kiosk seeks to achieve all three of these on the site of the Red Bird Mission campus, located deep in the Appalachian Mountains of Clay County, Kentucky. This is an area where most live below the poverty line, and about 64 percent of water sources are contaminated. As a result, lack of clean water has forced many locals to turn to unhealthy living standards. Because of these conditions, the county ranks as one of the poorest in the nation, as well as being near the bottom in major health indicators. The Water Kiosk will provide municipal water to over 9000 local inhabitants of the area who currently do not have access to clean water.

Red Bird Mission, The University of Tennessee Colleges of Architecture and Design, Engineering and Nursing are collaborating to remedy many of the health issues that are prevalent in Clay County through a three year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to these coordinated education efforts, the Water Kiosk will be the first design - build intervention. It will also provide a new home for the local farmers’ market to support local businesses and serve the social aspects of a “watering hole”. This project showcases the powerful impact the students, faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee can have on our neighboring communities through collaboration of multiple disciplines.