"Le projet Warka Water (Biennale d'architecture 2016, Venise)" by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Generally speaking, talk of something being produced out of thin air conjures images of magic tricks involving black hats and white rabbits. Not so when it comes to Warka Water towers, which ingeniously extract drinkable water out of the air.
Designed to be owned and operated by African villagers - an estimated one billion of whom have little or no access to safe water - Warka Water towers harvest rain, fog and dew, to collect up to 100 liters of drinking water every day. In a beautiful example of science learning from nature, the system’s harvesting technique was inspired by plants and animals with unique structural features that enable them to collect water from the air and survive in hostile environments.
As well as collecting water for communities that need it most, the towers also provide a social meeting place under the shade of their canopies. The designers envisage this area as a space for educational and public meetings - crucial for a flourishing community.
Each tower currently costs $500 to set up - a relatively small amount to Western ears but more than most communities in sub-Saharan Africa can afford. So Warka Water is raising funds on Indiegogo, to make this innovative alternative water source available to rural communities around the world, quicker than you can say “abra cadabra.”
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