German designers Wach just unveiled a product concept that any small-apartment denizen will love: A sink that doubles as a dish washer. The piece is part of a show of work by young German designers, called DMY Berlin.

The so-called Colo system is exceedingly simple: After a meal, you load a tray with dirty dishes, then you plop that down into the sink. Above the sink there's a hood which can then be lowered to create an enclosed washing chamber. After that's done, you can pull the trays back out and hang them--they function as storage for the clean dishes.

Just a clever concept? Maybe. But a design like this really could work, if they nailed one important issue: The pressurization of the water, sprayed down upon the dishes. That's a big reason why dish washers are far more water-efficient than hand washing--they make every single drop count. But the design does address one crucial source of water-waste: The hand pre-rinse that most people apply before running their dishwasher.  

If you speak German, you can read more about the concept here.

[Via DailyTonic]

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