Friesel

“Four Projects” Nelson Gallery, University of California, Davis • 
2005

One in Wowhaus’ series of portable, interventionist structures that engage community, Friesel (a contraction of “free” and “diesel”) was a project using human-scale technology and local resources to create free diesel fuel. Conceived as a domestic scale, affordable technology, the system is designed to produce a minimum of 15 gallons of clean-burning biodiesel fuel per week. For this project, the gallery became a locus for community engagement: Wowhaus collaborated with staff at Sodexho USA, the food service provider at the university that donated used vegetable oil from their fryers. About50 gallons of used vegetable oil are produced monthly on the UC Davis campus alone; similar food service operations exist across the country.

Curated by: Renny Pritikin