Project
BIOSPHERE EXPERIENCE association experiments sustainable and desirable futures in which humans live in symbiosis with other living species. In 2024, Caroline Pultz & Corentin De Chatelperron spent 4 months experimenting how a low-tech lifestyle in an urban environment could look like: a lifestyle without waste, reducing water consumption by ten, meeting the UN's 2050 targets for greenhouse gas emissions, while remaining desirable and accessible to everyone. Armed with experts, volunteers and interns, they imagined and designed a forward-looking apartment-ecosystem called the Urban Biosphere, set up in the Parisian region at Boulogne-BTheillancourt. To complete the ecosystem, their colleague Emma Bousquet-Pasturel set up a vast network of mutual aid around the apartment. At the same time, Emma has been tasked with coordinating a participative science program bringing together hundreds of citizens from France and abroad to test a simplified version of some of the apartment-laboratory's low-tech systems in their own homes.
Ce tutoriel présente un module low-tech spécialement conçu pour l’expérience de 4 mois menée par Caroline et Corentin à Boulogne-Billancourt. Le module a été installé dans une salle commune située dans le même immeuble que l’appartement-laboratoire. Il ne s’agit donc pas d’un tutoriel du programme de sciences participatives.
The useful fitness room :
Inaugurated in October 2024, a shared “useful fitness room” is part of the building of the future imagined by Caroline and Corentin. It aims to rethink the way we organize our daily tasks and activities. Laundry, bread dough and even hummus can all be done at the same time as your sport session, thanks to useful fitness machines! No need to have one at home, the idea is to pool, share and meet new people right in your own building, without any headaches, all with machines that are 100% re-used & 100% human powered. This useful fitness room, commonly known as “Johnny's Fitness Club”, was designed by a team of volunteers guided by Johnny Allen from Auroville.
Rower washing machine:
This tutorial shows the steps involved in building most advanced machine we made: the rower washing machine. Before its installation in the new low-tech fitness room, this machine was used as a practical case study for six months at the ICAM Paris engineering school.
A little background on the machine presented in this tutorial: The machine was developed in several steps, the first one in partnership with ICAM Grand Paris Sud students. The project was initiated and coordinated by Corentin De Chatelperron, who worked with a group of two students and the ICAM teaching staff to produce a first prototype. This prototype was built around the main components of a washing machine, and custom-cut parts were added to create the structure and sealing. Following problems with leaks, Corentin and the volunteers team developed a new machine using a “whole machine" (stripped of its electronics). This machine was found in the street 200m from the apartment, so it was given a second life instead of being disposed in the bulky items.
Then, it was used several times throughout the Urban Biosphere experiment, by Caroline and Corentin, by Johnny and by other neighbors testing the "useful fitness room".
Improvements to be made: The machine still leaks slightly under the door (much less than on the first prototype). For a new, totally watertight version, it would be better to use a machine with a top opening. The only drawback: with this configuration, there's no longer any visibility of the wash.
Feedback from user experience: “Washing clothes with others is a really TOP experience! We tested 10 minutes each with 4 for each step of the cycle (washing, draining + spinning, rinsing, spinning). Thus, someone always has a visual on the laundry in motion during the rowing, we discuss, it becomes a collective game around a common goal, which is friendly".
The rower washing machine allows you to "gamify" the action and to have a more practical and pleasant use than when you are alone.
Almost as easy to use as a washing machine, the low-tech rower laundry washing machine replaces all the actions done by electricity with human energy. So you will just have to fill the drum with water, row, row, row and evacuate the water.
Advantages of the machine:
The washing rowing machine has many advantages:
• Use mechanical energy rather than electrical energy. The idea is to be as autonomous as possible and conserve electrical energy for other uses.
• Reduce water consumption: in 2024, a machine consumes between 40L and 80L of water per cycle depending on its class and up to 90L to 110L for a class D (https://eau.selectra.info/consommation/machine-a-laver) machine, which represents a significant part of a household's water consumption. The rower washing machine only requires 20L of water, which is between 2 and 4 times less than a conventional machine (test carried out to wash 1kg of dirty laundry at 60°).
• Eliminating the use of electricity and reducing water consumption also means lowering your bills. It is also a great financial advantage.
• Control the recovery of grey water: by taking care to use suitable products (here we use the ultra-concentrated washing powder of the Biovie brand), it is quite possible to reuse the washing water for uses that don’t require the use of drinking water. (Ex: at the Urban Biosphere, the grey water and the products used are ultra healthy and are put in the watering-can to water the plants in the garden).
• Allows you to exercise in a useful and pleasant way for about 40 minutes
• Easily repairable and upgradeable: designed on this model to operate a washing machine, this machine can be infinitely optimized and adapted to various uses.
• Placed in a fitness room, this machine allows you to create social links, to help your neighbour and to meet very diverse profiles who are ready to commit to the transition.
This tutorial describes the manufacture of the rower washing machine in three main steps as well as a quick instruction manual to make it easier to handle. The model proposed in the tutorial can be adapted-modified-improved according to your desires, your material and your skills.
Étape 3 - Step 3 - Preparation of the washing machine
1- Lighten the machine
Depending on the model and year of manufacture, washing machines can be more or less complex. As a result, they are more or less easy to dismantle.
As electronic components are no longer useful on this 100% mechanical system, they need to be removed.
Here are a few examples:
• Pressure switch
• Programmer
• Thermostat
• Heating element
• Thermistor
• Motor
• Circulation pump
• Drain pump
• Hot / cold water solenoid valve
• ...
Start by removing the plate at the rear of the machine, using a suitable screwdriver.
Remove the lining (foam, insulation, etc.) inside.
Remove the electronic components from the rear of the machine, leaving only the outer casing, the drum, the porthole with its safety lock, and the water drain.
! Be careful not to injure yourself when working inside the machine, as the working space is restricted and there is a risk of injury. If the machine is rusty, don't hesitate to use WD40 or equivalent.
2- Make an opening for the transmission system to pass through
Choose the side where the rowing machine will be placed (here on the left, at the rear of the machine) and trace the shape of the opening. The opening is in the corner (see dimensions).
Then use the grinder to cut the opening. Don't hesitate to do this in several stages if necessary.
For the finishing touches, use the grinder to make straight edges and adjust any small defects, and place silicone or sealant on the edge to prevent cuts.
! Caution: using a grinder requires care and protective equipment. Make sure you follow safety rules and perform the operation in a suitable location.
3- Installing the transmission system
At the rear of the drum, replace the machine's transmission pulley with a bicycle sprocket (freewheel). Create an adapter by welding in a screw, or install the sprocket directly using the hex head screw provided (tapped hole on the machine).
To avoid derailing, we've cut a circle out of a melamine panel.
To ensure correct operation, check that the sprocket is centered on the drum.
4- Customize the machine (optional)
This is an optional step that won't affect the operation of the system, but it does make your washing machine unique. Play around with the buttons, the detergent tank, the porthole and all the sides to personalize the unit and adapt it to its place of use.
Étape 6 - Step 6 : Assembling the machine
Assemble the sub-assemblies produced in the previous steps:
• washing machine
• the stand
• the rowing machine
1- Assembly and fixing
• Position the stand where the machine is to be used
• Place the machine on the stand, level with the wedge frame
• Position the rower, align the pulleys and secure the rower to the stand with the brackets.
2- Setting up the transmission
• Pass the chain over the sprocket on the drum.
• Attach the string to the end of the chain and to the handle.
• Lock the handle
3- Tests
Once all these steps have been completed, the rowing machine is ready for use. A final test will ensure that everything is securely fastened, that there are no blockages, and will allow adjustments to be made to the tension of the turnbuckle to adapt the system's elastic return.
Sit down, slide your feet into the footbraces, take hold of the handle and row back and forth a few times.
The second test is the wash test. The idea is to check that everything works when loaded (laundry + water) and that there are no leaks or water drainage problems.
To start with, take some old clothes or dishcloths of little value and follow the instructions.
If all goes well, the machine is ready to use and wash your clothes.
If not, proceed with adjustments and settings.
4- Finishing
Don't hesitate to personalize your machine, adding accessories such as a mechanical counter, ...
Étape 7 - Step 7 : Operating instructions
Now that the machine has been manufactured and assembled, we'd like to provide you with an instruction manual to guide you through the use of the rowing machine. It's up to you to test, experiment and document your washing sessions to create your own washing program. Don't hesitate to share your experiences and tips with us!
• Place laundry in machine (up to 3kg)
• Add detergent (preferably natural: Biovie reference shown in the document)
• Add about 5L of water. Don't let it overflow!
• Close the machine window
• Select the program or pretend to do so
• Stand on the rowing machine
• Row in 3 cycles of 100 strokes each: (nature of the 3 cycles to be confirmed)
◦ Cycle 1: laundry cleaning
▪ Row for 15 min at constant speed, depending on the effort you wish to make.
▪ Drain dirty water
▪ Row for 2 min to extract dirty water.
◦ Cycle 2: rinse
▪ Drain the tank and fill with clean water (approx. 5L).
▪ Rinse for a further 10 min at constant speed according to the set rhythm.
◦ Cycle 3: Spin.
▪ Empty tank
▪ Row for 10 min at high speed
▪ Drain tank one last time
• Collect your laundry and hang it out to dry.
Water is drained by gravity. During use, the drain hose is placed high up so that the water remains in the machine. When draining, the hose is placed in the recovery basin under the machine. Water drains by gravity.
It is also possible to install a tap and create a more sophisticated drainage system.
{{How can I recycle wash/rinse water?
Make sure that you generate clean grey water, i.e. that the washing products used are ultra-safe and that the washed laundry does not leave any residues (dyes, paint, etc.). If this is the case, you can reuse this water to water your garden
If not, and in case of doubt, it's best to filter the water or flush it down the drain to avoid polluting plants.
For your information: As part of the Urban Biosphere project, we have used as much natural-fibre clothing as possible, rather than synthetic, to avoid any possible release of microplastics into the water, and to avoid contaminating the plants.}}
Tutorial written by Anthony Delforge, with help from Gabriel Babin & Alexandre Capart (ICAM) and Caroline Pultz, published by Agathe Meurisse
Français
English
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português