The Namib beetle lives in the desert collecting dew on its bumpy shell and funneling the water into its mouth. Luckily, there was a local condensation-capturing expert on hand. This was especially true in the desert with the pronounced difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures–the recipe for condensation. “Air always contains a certain amount of water,” Vittori said. So instead of looking down, AV looked up. Wells built over the last two decades in some large villages have helped with water shortages, but their upkeep and location mean they’ve only benefited some. Performance is weather dependent but each tower has the capability of providing a community with up to 100 liters of water per day.The WarkaWater tower v1.1. A fabric canopy shades the lower sections of the tower to prevent the collected water from evaporating. Atmospheric water vapor from either rain, fog, or dew, condenses against the cold surface of the mesh, forming droplets of liquid water that trickle down into a reservoir found at the bottom of the structure. “Comprising a bamboo frame that supports a mesh polyester material inside, the tower is both cheap and easy to build. Only after the construction of the first functioning prototypes, the public trust has increased.”Īrturo’s proposal was a lightweight, easily constructed, and an infrastructure-independent system like Warka. We have been financing this project using crowdfunding. “By being an innovative project, the initial development has been very challenging, technically, and financially. It has not been an easy task according to Arturo, with people not willing to believe that to harvest water from the air was an actual possibility. Later on, Arturo founded a non-profit, Warka Water Inc., officially constituted in 2016 in the United States.įirst of all, the technique of harvesting water from the air, it is not something new, explains Arturo. This is true everywhere but it is especially difficult to guarantee in a place where accessing those elements is not easy.” I learned a lot working in all these different contexts, designing a human settlement on Mars you have to make the most efficient use of the fundamental resources to support human existence, air, water, etc. Before that, with my design practice, I have been involved in several projects in different fields: Outer Space, Aerospace, Marine, and Terrestrial extreme environments. “Initially, Warka Water was a research project developed by my design office and it was self-financed. In this area, the problem of water scarcity is a scary reality with only a small part of the population has access to drinking water.”This aroused Arturo’s design and social instincts and that’s when the Warka Water concept started. “Here I witnessed for the first time the dramatic reality of children and women traveling for long distances to transport water, which is often not drinkable, polluted, and shared with animals. This mission was the result of Arturo’s visit, in May 2012, to northern Ethiopia. The construction of the various structures of the village is not only a sustainable work from the point of view of the materials or techniques used, but assumes also a social function, showing how architecture, especially in developing countries, can become an instrument of rebirth and cooperation,” explains Arturo.
#WARKA WATER TOWER MANUAL#
The community is also involved from the point of view of manual work, giving them the opportunity to learn new construction techniques. One of the aims of the project is to create an opportunity for collaboration and exchange between architects, workers, and the local ethnic groups. Throughout the construction process, the community is actively involved in every action. “Warka Tower is based on an in-depth study of local culture, first rediscovering it, and then using traditional techniques that make use of local natural materials, fused with cutting-edge technology. Like the tree, the Warka Tower serves as an important cornerstone for the local community, becoming part of the local culture and ecosystem by providing its fruits, shade, and offering a gathering place. The name of the project ‘Warka’ comes from the Warka Tree, which is a giant, wild fig tree native to Ethiopia. Early on we realized that above the water scarcity there were other urgent issues to be solved on those rural communities, this is why additional projects such as Warka Solar, Warka Garden, Warka Sanitation, Warka House, and Culture a Porter have been developed,” explains Arturo Vittori, the man behind this social design initiative. “Warka Tower is the first project we began developing in Ethiopia in 2014. The initial design of the Warka Tower in Ethiopia in 2014.
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