HYDRATE

“AN ARCHITECTURAL CONNECTION BETWEEN MAN AND WATER”

BArch - THESIS PROJECT

American University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

STUDIO MASTER

Dr. Georges Kachaamy

PROJECT YEAR 2018-2019

The United Arab Emirates faces the threat of losing all its sources to fresh and natural water due to global warming. In the recent years all of UAE’s bottled water companies (with the exception of Masafi & Jeema) source their waters through governmental desalination facilities, which according to reports, seems to increase on global warming and is largely uneconomical. Storing natural water by the use of dams has also proved more difficult to sustain due to the harsh weather conditions of the region. In 2011, Abu Dhabi’s Electrical and Water Authority (ADEWA) introduced a new technique into the region in which water is stored through “aquifers”. In this system, water is place either under the earth or in a cave inside a mountain, preventing evaporation or contamination in the air, additionally, the water is naturally cooled by the layers of earth or rock surrounding the water. The proposed design utilizes the storing methodology of ADEWA’s aquifers by merging architecture and nature. The building will realize the natural water of the site and use its unique conditions to gather water, treat it, and reserve it inside the mountain.