Water Transects: Territorial planning at the Atacama desert

PRESENTATION

FUNCTIONAL

Team

Name: Barbara Maldonado

Nationality: Chile

Institution / Company: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Name: Constanza Bianchini

Nationality: Chile

Institution / Company: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Name: Gonzalo Quevedo

Nationality: Chile

Institution / Company: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Name: Giovanna Di Bitonto

Nationality: Italian

Institution / Company: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | Politecnico di Milano

-JOURNAL PICK of Waterless World Competition

As a team, we started from the premise that a waterless world is already happening. Such is the condition of the Atacama Desert, in Chile. Specifically, in the province of Chañaral, mining activity is consuming and polluting the water by monopolizing the scarce resource. This modifies the natural cycle of water of the territory and jeopardizes sweet water accessibility for any other purpose or necessity.

The project speculates on the possibility of creating an artificial sustainable cycle of water between the actors and demands of water already taking place in the province by operating in four transects. There’s no specific site that would resolve the issue. Territorial planning and several projects that act as a whole are needed. Connected by the origin of the source – pumps, tubes, water banks, and the ocean itself – the project resolves issues such as lack of infrastructure around water tourism (Andean plateau), accessibility of sweet water for farmers of the Kolla culture (Andean foothills), remediation of polluted water by the mining tailings for plant irrigation (Desertic valley), and sweet water obtained from the “camanchaca” (a phenomenon of humid mist that only happens at the Fog-Oasis coast).

#atacamadesert #territorialplanning #productivelandscape #drylands #largewaterinfrastructureandaccessibility