Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition
Turan Akman
United States
Water is the foundation of life. Now, imagine a world without water. 33% of the land in the world are deserts, so life without water is a reality for those regions. In fact, around 1 billion people lack access to safe water, and this number is growing as the water crisis in the world is getting worse. On top of this, climate change is affecting our water sources. Rivers and lakes are either drying up, or becoming too polluted to use. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of people die each year because of diseases caused by lack of water. New buildings are usually designed to save water, but this solution is simply not enough. At the current rate of water consumption, this problem will only get worse and we need a better solution.
Sometimes the answer we’re looking for is right in the nature. Namib Desert Beetle(Stenocara gracilipes) lives in one of the driest places on earth, at the southwest cost of Africa, in the Namib Desert. This ingenious creature collects water from the air, in one of the driest places on earth. When moist air, lying over the Atlantic Ocean, is cooled and blown into the land, it creates streams of fog over the dunes of the desert in the morning, before the sun burns everything off. This is the saving grace for this beetle. It lifts its back up against the wind, and as the wind hits the beetle’s shell, it efficiently collects water, thanks to the combination of hydrophobic(water-repelling) surfaces and hydrophilic(water-attracting) bumps. The hydrophilic bumps act as magnets for water, and the hydrophobic surfaces direct the water towards the beetle’s mouth. During this process, it drinks about 40% if its body weight.
Tower of Life mimics this process to catch water from the air by using strategically placed water-catching surfaces, not just enough for its residents, but also enough water for its surroundings to allow life to flourish. As Tower of Life carries more water to its surroundings, it will create a better life for everyone, and everything around it.
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