Drinking the Dew and Tree-cycling

What will be the next great cabin design of the future? We can only speculate how the cabin, the iconic symbol of resident camps, will continue to evolve in the future. I recently read an article that reminded me that sometimes the simplest inspirations give birth to the solutions of tomorrow.

In this article, Italian industrial designer Arturo Vittori proposed a new solution to providing potable water. Inspired by the wild fig tree, the warka, Vittori applies the principle of condensation to literally “pull clean drinking water out of thin air.” The “skin” of the structure is constructed of a nylon or polypropylene mesh that collects water droplets as they condense from cold night air. In areas such as Ethiopia, with a day-to-night temperature variation range of 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Vittori’s design could produce up to 25 gallons of clean drinking water per day. From Vittori’s website:

Photo Credit: Warka Water

The design consists of 10 components, all of which can be constructed with basic hand tools. Materials include bamboo, mesh, polyester rope, and hemp wires. The top of the structure is equipped with rotating mirrors which deter birds by reflecting light. Next comes the structure which consists of a bamboo frame. Moving down the structure is the canopy. This references the inspiration of the warka tree, and provides shade to create a community gathering space. Ropes are used to ground the freestanding structure. The Warka Water 3.1 uses both fog harvesting and dew harvesting to collect water. The mesh captures water droplets from fog harvesting while the water collector captures water from dew harvesting. The water then moves through a funnel filtration system before it reaches the 260 gallon water tank. The water tank is raised from the ground to allow the supply system to use gravity to distribute the collected water. The Warka structures is built on a base of natural stone.

Vittori’s approach is surprisingly simple. “His solution, the WarkaWater tower, is as elegantly low-tech as a handwoven basket. Using only the basic principle of condensation, it could be the key to providing potable water to an entire continent,” writes Nicholas Derenzo in Hemisphere Magazine.

Photo credit: WholeTrees

Photo credit: Whole Trees

In the age of the “back to nature” movement, it seems a given that the future of cabin design will be inspired by nature. Clearly inspired by nature, are the structures constructed by WholeTrees, a Wisconsin-based company. WholeTrees specializes in using small-diameter round timber for structural elements in place of steel. This use of unmilled lumber in a new context offers multiple benefits. The entire tree is used in the building process, and one can certainly see how this idea and aesthetic would fit within the world of summer camp, bringing the natural beauty of the forest indoors.

Perhaps one day our cabins will be pulling water out of thin air, and structured around round timber from local forests. We will just have to wait and see what nature will inspire next.