Groasis Waterboxx 





The Water box mimics the way a seed grows when a bird poops. The dung keeps the water from evaporating which allows the seed to grow. This design mimics that with a plastic housing. Smart!

DRIPS Project


















 This project gathers dew that collects on the broad funnel shape and delivers it right to the roots of a plant.

Nature that collects dew 

(Source:Optimal Design of Permeable Fiber Network Structures)

Namib Desert Beatle
Grass in the region of the desert beatle
Tree canopies with slender leaves
Spider webs

Why This is Important

The WaterBoxx is based on biomimicry which I think is a great concept we have not explored yet. Also the DRIPS project was inspired by the dung beetle how it gathers dew from the desert floor every morning.

Sources: 

Groasis waterboxx: Anti-desertification technology for planting in dry, eroded and rocky areas. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.groasis.com/en

The D.R.I.P.S. Project. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://dripsproject.com/

Park, K., Chhatre, S. S., Srinivasan, S., Cohen, R. E., & McKinley, G. H. (2013). Optimal design of permeable fiber network structures for fog harvesting. Langmuir : The ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids, 29(43), 13269-13277. doi:10.1021/la402409f
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/07/pitch-africa-2.jpg

Neat idea: Building a soccer stadium designed to harvest rainwater in African countries which integrates a love of football with clean water. They also utilize ex-military parachutes as pre-built rainwater harvesting systems as they already have a hole in the center and are made of rip-stop nylon which can take the weight of water.


Why This is Important:
This is taking architecture and applying it to a new context as well as repurposing an old material for a new task instead of designing a high-tech device that can do it.

Source:
Pitch Africa. (2007, January 1). Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://pitch-africa.org/#!about-pitch/
Water can be found even in barren lands. Extracting water from the air, plants and ground can be done creating make-shift solar stills. 

An article on Wikihow.com describes in detail how it can be found and can be found here.
Make Water in the Desert Step 8 Version 2.jpg

Solar stills can be beneficial to the villagers of Longido by reusing or recycling water that they currently have. The solar stills are also created using basic materials that can be found easily and cost-effectively in their environment. Potential areas to use this concept would be in the process of brick-making or agriculture as large amounts of water is needed to sustain or maintain the projects only for the water to be wasted when they are evaporated into the air. Capturing and condensing the water would help increase water consumption and add clean water to their diet without much labour.

 How to Make Water in the Desert. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Water-in-the-Desert

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