Skyscrapers that Double as Irrigation Systems – or – This is just freaking cool.

By Dave Semeniuk On April 2, 2008 · Leave a Comment · In >archive

fog collecting skyscraper

Since 2003, the eVolo architecture skyscraper competition has brought together students and professionals into an arena of human and environmentally oriented design. This year, the third place winner has a place in my own heart, and possibly one in Terry*’s. The corkscrew shaped building, designed by Alberto Fernández and Susan Ortega, was conceived to develop and maintain a sustainable agricultural industry near the Atacama desert. The building’s high surface area makes it ideal for harvesting water droplets from the “Camanchaca”, a dense, higher altitude fog that does not precipitate onto the dry land below. From Inhabitat:

Here, trace minerals from the sea are filtered out via a reverse osmosis system, which is much more efficient than processing sea water into potable water via desalination plants. The end result is a water distribution system with a planned performance of 2-20 liters per square meter of vertical surface, producing from 20,000 to 200,000 liters of water per day.