Water from the air

Drinking water award goes to water vapour collector

Inspired by the way dewdrops collect on leaves and spiders’ webs, two Israeli architects have designed a device to collect water from the air – and won an international ideas competition for drinking water solutions.

The aptly named ‘Watair’ is basically an inverted pyramid array of panels with a surface area of 96 square metres. Its designers, Joseph Cory and Eyal Malka, say it has the potential to collect, daily, at least 48 litres of water which can then be filtered for drinking. It could be adapted for use in a range of environments including city rooftops, remote locations, and where other water sources might be contaminated. The Watair’s design could incorporate solar panels, they suggest; it could also all be manufactured locally from 100% recycled materials.

Recalling that desert tribes used a similar method to collect water over 2000 years ago, Cory said: “It is a simple concept. It was inspired by nature and it is designed to co-exist with it. It uses low-tech equipment, it’s feasible, and it’s affordable for the people who will need it the most.”

The Drawing Water Challenge competition was run by Wateraid and UK-based engineering firm Arup, to find new and innovative ways of bringing clean drinking water to millions of people around the world. Second prize went to Lebanese designer Maxime Hourani’s ‘paddle for water’ cycle-driven pump which, like other versions of this device, uses similar principles to the treadle pump developed in Bangladesh and the South African ‘playpump’ merry-go-round. – David Howells

2 May 2007

David Howells