Design brief

Challenge: Reduce or eliminate the use of potable water for use on green urban areas such as parks and public gardens

The design solution is a system that collects, storages and distributes water in green urban areas such as parks and public gardens. Urban landscaping is a company that specializes in designing site-adapted landscape projects. Their unique designs are sustainable solutions in which each element has a purpose in the system. The company proposes, practical, natural and adapted features in their designs. The purpose of the design is to collect water from the rain; this water could also come from the roofs of near by buildings, which falls into the storing device. Its function is also to store this water to be latter use to irrigate these parks and public gardens. Lateral advantages of the design is the over accumulation of water in urban areas which could make big puddles. The intention of this design is to e ciently make the parks and public gardens self-su cient by e ectively recollect and use water. These could translate in savings for the government, therefore the residents of those cities, as resources would be saved and transportation and use of potable water is not needed to maintain these green areas. The immediate bene ciaries of this design would be the residents of urban areas, whom enjoy their green areas such as parks and public gardens, and like them to be healthy. Never the less, they are aware of the cost of maintenance and would like the advantage of reducing this expense to invest that money, recollected from their taxes, in other projects that the city needs. The importance of the application of water storage for urban green areas is to engage highlight the importance of using our resources e ciently. Especially in big cities were, must of these are taken from granted and/or part of a big infrastructure that must of the residents do not see or understand.

Nationally, outdoor water use accounts for 30 percent of household use yet can be much higher in drier parts of the country and in more water-intensive landscapes. For example, the arid West has some of the highest per capita residential water use because of landscape irrigation.
Source: American water Works Association Research Foundation residential End Uses of Water. 1999.

The design will function in urban areas mostly surrounded by buildings. These buildings could be up to 4 storey or more. Taking as an example the city of Barcelona, which has an annual average precipitation of 25 inches and counts with 48 urban parks. Today, in many cities, which are also towards sustainable goals, the solutions used to reduce water consumption for irrigation are automated drip irrigation systems. These are usually installed in new parks and gardens. These irrigation systems are also equipped with pluviometers or humidity sensors that enable the optimization of water consumption and prevent irrigation when it is raining and when the ground is relatively damp. Unfortunately it is not common to nd the use of recollected rainwater to irrigate such gardens. Design Brief Design Process Design presentation Week 3

Design Proposal Week 4

Week 1

Week 2

Timeframe for completion Biomimetic Design/ MCAD/Mirna Garza/ Assignment 8.1b/Summer 2013

C2B design spiral 1

Indentify Reduce or eliminate the use of potable water for use on green urban areas such as parks and public gardens

Translate Distribute rainwater to ora in parks and gardens

Discover Sacred g The peculiar shape of the leaves allows the water to be displaced faster and more e ciently. This design helps keep the blade dry, and is especially predominant in humid conditions. The design varies and can have diverse channels leading to the tip. This strategy also allows the forest to direct the water to the soil were it is needed.

Abstract Designed with diverse channels the water can ow to di erent designated ends or join with other channels to one end. The curvature at the tip, allows the water remaining to accumulate forming a pendant drop. This phenomenon is due to the surface tension, the formation of drops happens when the molecules of the water attract each other ad minimize the surface area, then this mass of liquids is stretched. The molecules of water, by gaining mass stretch the liquid to a point where the surface tension can no longer hold it. The result is water slowly falling down: accumulating and releasing.

Emulate Curvature end will allow the water to more e ciently direct, contain and release water due to he surface tension e ect.

Biomimetic Design/ MCAD/Mirna Garza/ Assignment 8.1b/Summer 2013

C2B design spiral 2

Indentify Reduce or eliminate the use of potable water for use on green urban areas such as parks and public gardens

Translate Capture

Discover Bromeliads Possessing long leaves, these grow in tight rosettes and channel rainwater down so that the rosette is lled with water. Its strategy to capture water is their hydrophobic leaf surface which has an irregular surface imperceptible to the naked eye, therefore minimizing the attachment of the water to its leafs and dispersing the water on the leaf blade forming a little pond at the bottom. The formation of the pond is necessary for their survival, as Bromeliads do not have a well-developed root system.

Abstract Microscopic surface irregularities aid the cohesive forces that are responsible for surface tension, which will be larger than the adhesive forces that tend to atten the water drops. In a apparently at surface, these are particularly useful when the intention is not to retain water but to aid it to ow.

Emulate The channels that will direct the rainwater to a de ned destination will have small irregularities on its surface to aid the cohesive forces to release the water accumulated in these.

Biomimetic Design/ MCAD/Mirna Garza/ Assignment 8.1b/Summer 2013

C2B design spiral 3

Indentify Reduce or eliminate the use of potable water for use on green urban areas such as parks and public gardens

Translate Store

Discover Peatlands These are areas of land that direct amounts of water. These usually are found near larger steams of water or rivers. Their exibility on their shapes, shallowness enclosure allows them to perform better during rainstorms. It can store water and distribute it accordingly in dry seasons. It also allows a diverse wroth on pant material rich on carbon and organic content.

Abstract Narrow channels that direct the water to the ora and fauna of the park can also serve as storage systems. Just as ephemeral streams that do not have a continuous ow of rainwater, these can storage quantities of water to be used by the ecosystems in the park and redirect the water to a desired destination.

Emulate If used with a rocky surface, the water will hold its position and at the same time, when needed it, will direct itself to the ora that needs the water.

Biomimetic Design/ MCAD/Mirna Garza/ Assignment 8.1b/Summer 2013

PROPOSE
The prototype project being proposed is a combination of the described functions and strategies observed in nature. These will work together as the channels being positioned in the walls of buildings next to a green area will have small irregularities in their surface. These channels should be made from post consumer use. The modularity of the design will allow it to be used in taller or smaller buildings. The curvature tip module will allow the water to make drops that will fall into the container made of local rocks, the container will also divert into a series of paths made from rocks that will distribute the water into the desired ora. The rocky surface will allow the water to be stored and release to the owers slowly and as needed. The material needed can be found in the community where these solution will be used. Materials needed: Recycled PET, ABS or steel from post consumer or industry user Local rocks Manufacturing process: Molding and/or extrude The cost of the channel module using recycled ABS is 10 dls of the volume s larger the cost could be brought down. Depending on the amount of models needed the price can range from, for example for a 40 feet building one channel can cost 80 dls. The cost of making the rock storage can vary depending on labor. Labor is also needed to assemble the channels but no adhesives will be needed as the design of each module snaps into the other.

Biomimetic Design/ MCAD/Mirna Garza/ Assignment 8.1b/Summer 2013