Bowl-shaped roofs harvest rainwater to naturally cool homes in arid environments

(Source: trueactivist.com; January 31, 2017;Grafic Credit: BMDesign Studios http://tinyurl.com/h7x8cvc)

This intriguing concept collects rainwater and cools homes in desertic climates.Water scarcity is a conundrum that affects every continent. Approximately 1.2 billion people (or 1/5 of the world’s population) live in areas of physical scarcity, and another 1.6 billion people face economic water shortage, relays UN Water. To help remedy this conundrum, BMDesign Studios developed an innovative roof that is capable of collecting rainwater and cooling homes in arid environments.

The Concave Roof which looks like a bowl sits on top of a domed roof. When it rains and water is collected, the life-saving resource is funneled through the bowl into cooling reservoirs. Space between the double roofs allows for wind circulation and shade.

The architects explain that the system is designed to “help [make] even the smallest quantities of rain [flow down] the roof and eventually coalesce into bigger drops, just right for harvesting before they evaporate.” Considering hot, dry climates can be almost unbearable for residents during the summer, this intriguing concept has a variety of positive implications.

Not only will inhabitants of the homes benefit from the cooling reservoir which is placed between building walls and helps regulate indoor temperatures, the carbon footprint of the natural air conditioning units is reduced. Inhabitat relays that initial testing of the concave roofs shows a 60% efficiency. 989 cubic feet of water can be harvested out of just 9,935 square feet of concave roof.

This is only the beginning. The studio, which is based in Tehran, Iran, intends to continue research in order to improve the design’s efficiency. Developments that take place now will undoubtedly affect many in the future, as it is predicted that arid areas will drastically increase over the next 30 to 40 years.

Following are some photos of the concept provided by the architects:

Comments

[Abdul Hannan]

But how will this be an efficient investment for a desert or an arid environment like Lahore where rain is not more than 20 days per year?

[Hans-Peter Kraus]

Good Question. Still I think that ideas which are somehow out of the box will help us, to find solutions. I believe the intend for solutions makes the difference to find technical solution fitting to the area. Keep up asking question.