Peruvian University Students Win World Architecture Festival’s Inaugural ‘Water Research Prize’

World Architecture Festival has announced the winner of its inaugural Water Research Prize. First place was awarded to a team of students from Pontificia Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) who designed a water management system that “captures, stores, and treats rainwater and inserts it into pre-existing water networks.”

The PUCP team was selected from over 60 entries from around the world. Entrants were asked to propose a new opportunity or challenge related to water and design. The team’s winning design focused on the “integration of water and sewage provision in the Peruvian Amazon, where only 31% of the population has access to water, despite living in an area with the highest levels of annual rainfall worldwide.” The students designed a system of easily-integrated tubes to capture, store, and treat rainwater. Not only can the number of tubes in the wall be adjusted to better serve the users needs, but the system also features permeable walls that can facilitate cross-ventilation, allowing users to address the high temperatures and humidity of the region. This collection system is also communal, which reduces the cost per family and promotes social interaction.

Belen Desmaison, Teaching Fellow at Pontificia Catholic University of Peru, commented on the project saying, “We are very grateful for this award as it will allow us and the communities in the Amazon Rainforest that work with us to continue to explore alternatives for the provision of water to peri-urban and rural areas. We aim to use this opportunity to work on the production of a rainwater storage system made using local materials and knowledge that can be easily integrated with traditional architectural typologies.”

News via: World Architecture Festival