District Center

District Terrace-Forma is proposed as an agrarian community which shows reverence for water as the lifeblood of the desert. Spanning between mountain ridges, the center of the district is a dense assortment of terrace construction facing outward toward the Salton Sea. The surfaces of these terraces are public plazas, gardens, and walkable streets, and beneath them are dwellings, mercantile spaces and, where no access to daylight is available, storage areas for city goods. Extending from the center and across the ridges are agriculture terraces carved from the mountainside. These may be crops, orchards, vineyards or pastures for livestock.

Legend: i - Desalination Device and Center for Water Appreciation ii - Cliff Dwellings iii - Central Piazza iv - District Market v - Funicular Transport vi - Transit Hub vii - Garden Terrace viii - Tower ix - Agricultural Terrace x - Salt Water Pumped from Sea xi - Potable Water Aqueduct

Desalination Device And Center for Water Appreciation

The Desalination Device is a large-scale architectural expression of a passive water desalination process. Large panes of South-facing glass allow direct sunlight to heat the inner chamber, drawing evaporating water from the reservoir of untreated water into its form. Condensation will build on these panes and flow into a collection leader. Solar power collected and stored during the day will be used to power an active desalination process at night. This involves pumping the water at high pressure through seven layers of filtration membranes.

Attached to the device is an interpretive center where visitors may learn of the importance of the water to the city. Interactive wash basins, plant watering, toxin/PH testing stations, misting, and pump-activated waterfalls replicate city systems on a smaller scale.