OASIS

OASIS - STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE.

From the Persian qanat to the public fountains of Victorian England, access to drinking water has always been among humanity's defining achievements. At the intersection of infrastructure and art, these structures were not merely functional but they were celebrations of life, monuments to a shared resource held in common. That resource has since been repackaged. Bottled water is marketed through the imagery of alpine purity, while its true origins, the same springs and waterways that once fed civic fountains, go unacknowledged.

The public tap, once a gesture of collective care, has retreated into a design language governed by the fear of misuse. This hostile architecture does not merely alter the aesthetic of public space - it quietly erodes its capacity for shared meaning. OASIS is a meditation on the journey of water, and pays homage to its universal significance for all of US. Design by Xaver Kuster and Paul Canfora. Production by SCHAUM.

Xaver Kuster is an artist and designer based in Vienna, originally from Vorarlberg in the Austrian Alps. His work challenges conventional design typologies and material choices, fusing traditional craftsmanship with contemporary approaches across industrial, architectural, and spatial design.
He extends his practice beyond the object, shaping the narratives, contexts, and visual languages of his work. Through creative direction and immersive experiences, he develops culturally embedded stories that challenge how his work is perceived.