Designing to accommodate the peculiarities of the place is not new—in our area the old mission style of home really worked well to beat our heat and with its open to the west, caught the Delta breeze in the evenings—but this one is really cool.
Sustainable design
Coastal Fog Tower harvests Chilean mist
INHABITAT — One of the most promising approaches to sustainable architecture is the design of structures that benefit from the unique profile of their immediate environment.
The Coastal Fog Tower is highly specialized in this approach, utilizing a type of fog unique to Chile called camanchaca.
Standing 400 meters tall, this seaside spire is a cloud-catching marvel that stands to harvest airborne water molecules in the Huasco River valley. Its construction as a stacked weave serves to trap and wick moisture into the tower, while its spiraling structure provides a large surface area that funnels water into the basement.
