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THE INSIDE TRACK February 2020
IT Product
W
ith the escalating variants in temperatures, climate change palpably poses a fundamental threat to life on earth. We find ourselves fighting with the beast of extremes, with longer dry spells, sporadic flash floods, glacier shrinkage and graver impact on the environment in general. The World Health Organisation has predicted that by 2025, half of the world population would be living in water distressed areas. Africa, in particular is a continent highly vulnerable to the impact of global warming. It has become increasingly difficult for cities in these regions to provide the basic civic amenities pertaining water services. In 2018, after three consecutive years of scarce rainfall, Cape Town faced a water apocalypse, which was labelled Day Zero - the largest drought incurred municipal water failure in history. South African designer and Founder of Studio Sway, Shaakira Jassat - in the face of the recent crisis faced by her country - swiftly responded by devising an urban water harvesting panels for buildings that can sustain their own water needs. Though water harvesting in not a new phenomenon and has been practiced since times immemorial, the existing systems are typically large, cumbersome and difficult to install in urban settings. To add to the space crunch issue in cities, the urban design format with high-rise structures and infrastructure, acts as a deterent. Talking about the intention behind devising Aquatecture,
Aquatecture Façade Panels
Studio Sway’s Aquatecture panels offer a space-efficient system for rainwater harvesting that aesthetically fits in the urban settings. BY SHWETA SALVI
Aquatecture is a building panel system which can function as an integrated water harvesting system
Shaakira explains, “The main goal was to create a water harvester that would fit in dense urban spheres through its compactness, visual identity and ability to integrate into architecture.” The conventional water collection systems, with its design, high maintenance cost and alarming
Shaakira Jassat, Designer and Founder, Studio Sway
In Future, the panels will be integrated with technology to harvest moisture in the atmosphere
