‘When the well is dry’ explores how people live in a world with little access to drinking water.
As global temperatures continue to rise, humanity needs to change its methods of water extraction and production, focusing on how to utilise the water we have, recycle and reuse it from more sustainable sources. A warming world results in less rainfall and higher atmospheric vapour content and is an un-tapped resource of water which will only continue to grow with increasing temperatures.
Focusing on Tooleville, an arid and semi-remote town on the edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California, the project addresses three main issues. The absence of drinking water, absence of shade and absence of community spaces, resulting in a vacuum of social infrastructure.
AFT-261 is an Atmospheric Fog Tower. A small scale water production facility for local residents and seasonal agricultural workers, providing them with spaces to meet, rest and take part in bi-annual water rituals symbolising the importance of drinkable water.
The project took the form of physical prototype and model making as a visual language, beginning with experiments of water production on an individual scale culminating in a 1:100 sectional model of the built proposal.
AFT-261 is a temporary solution to an ongoing world-wide problem, where fresh, safe, clean drinking water is taken too much for granted.