Collecting water from the sky to the ground, where people need it. In rural Ethiopia women and children walk several hours to collect water.
Most people collect water from shallow, unprotected ponds which they share with animals and are subject to contamination.
‘WarkaWater’ is a 9 m tall bamboo framework with a special fabric hanging inside capable to collect potable water from the air by condensation. The
lightweight structure is designed with parametric computing, but can be built with local skills and materials by the village inhabitants.
The tower is assembled in sections and installed from top down. The structure The name ‘WarkaWater’ comes from the Warka Tree, a giant
wild fig tree native to Ethiopia, traditionally used for public gatherings and school education. The Warka Tree is an archetype of the Biennale theme
‘Common Ground’. can be lifted and fixed to the ground by 4 men, no scaffolding needed. The fabric can be lowered for maintenance.First prototypes have been built early this year in collaboration with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development EIABC of the Addis Abeba University, and with IUAV University of Venice. ‘WarkaWater’ is on exhibition at Palazzo Bembo during the 13th International Architecture
Biennale in Venice. The material used for the structure is the locally sourced giunco, iron wire for the connections and polyethylene textile for the fog harvesting. The current programme is to build several towers in Ethiopia early 2013 with the involvement of local people and supporters.
More info: Architecture and Vision
Produced by: Aldo Bianchi
Language: English
Year: 2012
Region: Ethiopia, Horn of Africa