Water scarcity affects billions of people around the world, and a majority of them live in Africa. People spend long hours every day trying to find and collect water from ponds or dried riverbeds, which are often unsafe and contaminated.
Now, an Italian architect, Arturo Vittori, and his firm Architecture and Vision, have come up with a hive-like bamboo structure that can turn fog into potable water. They call this 12-meter tall tower ‘Warka Water’. It can collect water in a variety of climates.
WarkaWater is Inspired by Nature
The name ‘Warka’ comes from the Warka tree, which is a giant fig tree native to Ethiopia. This tree is commonly used as a community gathering space.
The vase-like frame of the Warka Water tower is made out of juncus stalks or bamboo woven together. The tower is lined with a mesh net made of nylon or polypropylene. As the air flows through, the micro tunnels of mesh collect the droplets of dew. The droplets then flow down into a container at the base of the tower.
By harvesting atmospheric water vapor, this tower can collect at least 25 gallons of safe drinking water every day.
