The Himalayas water towers

The Himalayas; the greatest mountain range in the world, with the highest concentration of glaciers and ice peaks exterior to the polar regions, these peaks hold the gift of life for billions of people; water. Lakes and rivers form due to melting ice and flow at the base of the Himalayas, distributing fresh, pure water to villages, towns and countries around the expanse. For thousands of years the water cycle has been in full function without any resistance or problems, however, with the industrial revolution all sorts of issues began arising all around the world. One of these issues is global warming. Though global warming has not had a significant impact on humans yet, it has impacted human resources and the landscape worldwide. For generations multiple towns and villages have been using what natural resources and water they were blessed with from the Himalayas, but with global warming put into the equation, the ice in the Himalayas is melting at an accelerated rate. It is only a matter of time before the rate of melting outweighs the rate of freezing, causing the Himalayas to be lost as a valuable source of natural water as well as causing natural disasters such as floods in these villages due to the excess water output.

To find a solution to conserving the water and avoiding disasters three Chinese designers came up with a concept called the Himalayas water towers. These towers are designed to collect water from rain seasons and store them in vertical cylinders until they are needed, this way it can moderate water sources and partially prevent the Himalayas meltdown. Once needed, the frozen water is melted and sent down the tower into the roots for transportation, the needs of this water will depend on the demands of the cities and villages nearby. The towers are to be established close to the peaks of the mountains and the structure can be produced on mass to store as much water as possible. This concept took top prize in the eVolo skyscraper competition.

“The designers, Zhi Zheng, Hongchuan Zhao, Dongbai Song, say the skyscraper will collect water in the rainy season, purify it, freeze it into ice and store it for future use.”(3)

“At the bottom of the structure, surrounding the six intertwined water tubes is a transport system that regulates fresh water distribution to the towns and cities below. The curving channels connect the mountains to the villages, and are also hold within them a railway for the transport of people and goods,” (3)

The design is something taken out of a sci-fi movie; it is very intricate and futuristic but at the same time very graceful and contained. The structure divides into three main sections, the upper-section, core, and bottom section as well as an underground transportation system.

The core is mainly four wide cylinders that support the upper partition’s storage facilities, and concurrently hosts systems that purify, freeze, and even melt the collected water.

“Four massive cores support steel cylindrical frames that, like the stems below, hold levels that radiate out, creating four steel tubes filled with ice.”(4)

These systems are concealed within an ergonomically shaped center that is angled in a way that minimizes snow settling down on it. The upper section consists of four different length cylinders that store the water; multiple layers of reinforced temperature-resistant glass and steel are needed to withstand the unusual weight of the stored water. The cluster of ‘cylinders’ hold water at temperatures varying between -15’c to 0’c, at the core the temperature is 0’ and as you go down the structure, the temperature increases up to 15’c.

The lower partition is perhaps the awkward part of the design. From the center, a massive stem consisting of six twisting legs holds the structure up; the legs continue beneath the ground and become part of an underground root system. The legs are covered in cells that collect and transport the rainwater similar to that of a plant’s roots.

“Like the stem of a plant, these pipes grow strong as they absorb their maximum water capacity. In each of the six stems, a core tube is flanked by levels and levels of cells, which hold the water.” (4)

The channels underground are used to regulate dispersal and transport the water underground to the towns, another interesting feature about these channels is their capability of including a railway. This opens up a possibility of a ‘metro’ in the harsh environment, which can conveniently carry people and goods throughout the region while minimizing causalities and injuries due to the cold.

The structure overall is built to be as ‘curvy’ as possible, this way it is able to resist the wind and minimize the wind load, consequently lowering the amount of material required to build the structure.

As interesting as this proposal sounds, it is questionable if it will actually be implemented. Building such structures in the center of extremely treacherous conditions is exceptionally expensive and the work-force will be suffering in endeavor to build it. But it remains a very influential concept capable of gaining presence, perhaps in the far future.

References:

http://inhabitat.com/water-storing-himalaya-towers-take-first-place-in-2012-evolo-skyscraper-competition/ (1)

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130122-himalayas-water-towers-of-asia (2)

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/62131-himalayan-water-towers-to-solve-global-water-crisis (3)

http://www.evolo.us/competition/himalaya-water-tower/ (4)