Image 1 Oasis Project Proposal circa 2002-2004
Drawings show a device for water collection, condensation, and purification connected by ‘stem’ to an underground storage tank, accessed via a tap that operates with a pressure pump to retrieve water as if from a well. The top of the image shows the ‘oasis’ would look like an enormous flower, with the bottom of the image showing a cross section of the stem and underground water storage tank. Size variable based on conditions at the site/s and cost.
The inset image shows a distribution of units throughout the US southwest/ Mexico region where one or more people per day die of dehydration while crossing the border. Placement of the units references various humanitarian aid projects in the US/Mexico border region, which the proposal suggests supplementing or supplanting with these semi-permanent structures. The units are both functional, and a reconfiguration and redesign of Christo’s umbrella project, a massive public artwork meant to unite two cultures (in Christo’s case, California and Japan).
Image 2 Detail — Water Collection/Purification and Condensation System (cross section)
This detail shows five main elements of the ‘desert flower’. Centrally positioned is a water purification device (as per US Patent # 6,375,805). Surrounding this device is the water holding chamber. To the left and right above are extensions of the water-trapping surface extending from a photovoltaic array. Left and right below are channels to funnel dew into the storage chamber.
The ‘desert flower’ creates potable water by collecting it from rain, humans, and from the atmosphere. Integrated thermocouples increase the range of what is naturally the dew point in the desert; channels along the outside of the flower funnel that water into the storage tank. Impure sources of liquid like human urine, river water, or other found sources are purified by the central heating element when a person dumps liquid into the top opening of the flower.
The photovoltaic array is connected through batteries and microprocessor control panels to thermoelectric modules. TE modules are hooked up in parallel allowing for a large temperature differential between the top and bottom sides. One-way moisture permeable membranes prevent the evaporation of the water supply, but allow water condensation to take place on the underside slope (cold side) of TE modules. The heat conducting surface of TE modules on the upper side transfer heat across the water storage chamber to allow for pre-heating of liquid to be purified, resulting in greater efficiency for the entire system.
The project was conceived in collaboration with Dr. Thomas D. Schneider, microbiologist at the National Cancer Research Institute in Maryland and developed by artist Carrie Paterson. The drawings by Paterson were completed for Moisture I, a project spearheaded by artists Deena Capparelli and Claude Willey at the Center for Land Use Interpretation’s Desert Research Station in Hinkley, California.
Image 1 Oasis Project Proposal circa 2002-2004
Drawings show a device for water collection, condensation, and purification connected by ‘stem’ to an underground storage tank, accessed via a tap that operates with a pressure pump to retrieve water as if from a well. The top of the image shows the ‘oasis’ would look like an enormous flower, with the bottom of the image showing a cross section of the stem and underground water storage tank. Size variable based on conditions at the site/s and cost.
The inset image shows a distribution of units throughout the US southwest/ Mexico region where one or more people per day die of dehydration while crossing the border. Placement of the units references various humanitarian aid projects in the US/Mexico border region, which the proposal suggests supplementing or supplanting with these semi-permanent structures. The units are both functional, and a reconfiguration and redesign of Christo’s umbrella project, a massive public artwork meant to unite two cultures (in Christo’s case, California and Japan).
Image 2 Detail — Water Collection/Purification and Condensation System (cross section)
This detail shows five main elements of the ‘desert flower’. Centrally positioned is a water purification device (as per US Patent # 6,375,805). Surrounding this device is the water holding chamber. To the left and right above are extensions of the water-trapping surface extending from a photovoltaic array. Left and right below are channels to funnel dew into the storage chamber.
The ‘desert flower’ creates potable water by collecting it from rain, humans, and from the atmosphere. Integrated thermocouples increase the range of what is naturally the dew point in the desert; channels along the outside of the flower funnel that water into the storage tank. Impure sources of liquid like human urine, river water, or other found sources are purified by the central heating element when a person dumps liquid into the top opening of the flower.
The photovoltaic array is connected through batteries and microprocessor control panels to thermoelectric modules. TE modules are hooked up in parallel allowing for a large temperature differential between the top and bottom sides. One-way moisture permeable membranes prevent the evaporation of the water supply, but allow water condensation to take place on the underside slope (cold side) of TE modules. The heat conducting surface of TE modules on the upper side transfer heat across the water storage chamber to allow for pre-heating of liquid to be purified, resulting in greater efficiency for the entire system.
The project was conceived in collaboration with Dr. Thomas D. Schneider, microbiologist at the National Cancer Research Institute in Maryland and developed by artist Carrie Paterson. The drawings by Paterson were completed for Moisture I, a project spearheaded by artists Deena Capparelli and Claude Willey at the Center for Land Use Interpretation’s Desert Research Station in Hinkley, California.