ATOPIAResearch_CISTERN_X

CISTERN_X A project by ATOPIA_Research 2009

ATOPIA_RESEARCH Inc Princeton, New Jersey t +1 609 921 1418 info @ atopia-research.org

ATOPIA RESEARCH Inc.

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ATOPIA RESEARCH Inc.

Cistern_X is one of a range of rainwater harvesting infrastructures

developed by ATOPIAResearch and PITCHAfrica to address the global need for sustainable water collection.

Cistern_X is made from a converted shipping container and can harvest

and store up to 30,000 liters of water. A lightweight hinged frame is attached to the container, forming a rainwater harvesting hood and the structure is wrapped with an envelope made from recycled billboard canvas or locally available materials.

Cistern_X is iconic, functional and didactic; it is simultaneously a community ‘talking point’, a tool for harvesting, storing and filtering water and an educational object for teaching communities about water related issues.

Cistern_X can be opened in the rainy season to form the harvesting

hood and closed in the dry season to form an attic for dry food storage. This reservoir holds enough water for a family of four for 1 year. The design can be adapted to provide a combination of basic accomodation and water storage in contexts where that is necessary.

unless otherwise noted all images © ATOPIA

The principle of rainwater harvesting advocated by PITCH_AFRICA is demonstrated above. In countries where evaporative losses are high, only a small percentage of rainfall actually recharges ground water aquifers. Most water evaporates leaving communities without water in the dry season. Increasingly, rainwater harvesting will be essential to human survival in many areas of the world. If we hold onto the rain we never need to be without water.

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The three diagrams on the left describe the hood framing system. This photograph illustrates a range of study models showing textile cladding patterns.

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ATOPIA RESEARCH Inc. On the left is the first container on site in Princeton, showing the ‘end of life’ shipping container and Cistern_X with the hood open and closed.

Below left, work begins.

This page shows

the tools needed to prepare the container.

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