Water-Springs Structures

Brief:

“Nomow” aims to refurbish the water spring areas in Bahrain, by creating an eco-friendly residential 3D printed neighborhood, that utilizes the site’s earthen material and its remaining water table. The design reduces the heat conductivity and utilizes air humidity to catalyze agricultural activities. The plan includes the central public space featuring the water spring and the surrounding residential dwellings.

Context:

Buri water spring, Bahrain. Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands in the gulf peninsula, it is known for the groundwater table that created multiple water springs across the country. Due to the excessive use, high urbanization rate, and land reclamation, most of the water springs are dried, reclaimed, or used as waste dumps.

Structure:

The prototype neighborhood is 3D printed on a depressed excavated platform surrounding the water spring location. The excess sand then will be used to create the building material. As Bahrain’s earth is mainly soil and lacks clay availability, 10% lime will be added in addition to 5% cement to strengthen the mix besides 18% -24% water allows for its printability. The residential units start as a single level that grows vertically in a pyramidal order. The foundations are supported by the earthen excavated site surfaces to increase the strength and stability to allow vertical extensions. The introverted complex consists of the domed patterned pavilion and semicurved units that provide gradual load distribution.

Climatic response:

The depressed neighborhood platform acts as a cool air pool during the night and transfers the breeze to the surrounding units through the patterned air channels. The pyramidal units are overlapping with air channels and cavities to maximize airflow, diffused daylight, and reduce glare and heat.The pavilion structure contains water channels that transfer the water and the humidity to the structure’s components from the air and the water table. The structure mixture contains seeds of climbing hedges such as Lycium Arabicum and Cordia Myxa plants which are heat and drought tolerant. The pavilion openings are designed to catch humidity from the air through condensation to ease the plant’s growth to cover the pavilion with time. The residential units are covered with green roofs to grow crops and reeds while minimizing heat conductivity from the vertical sun rays. Any excess water is directed to drainage pipes in the wall cavities that are connected to the main water spring source. The neighborhood design creates a full ecosystem that is environmentally, socially, and economically friendly.