Oasis
Creators: R. Jesse Baltazar, Anna Crookston, Camilla Radoyce, Anthony Zhang
Supervisors: Jonathan Knowles & Peter Yeadon
This project was developed within an interdisciplinary advanced design studio at RISD that offered an opportunity for students to experiment with responsive biomaterials, meet some experts, tackle the problem of water scarcity, and develop innovative climate solutions for tall buildings in arid regions. As a partnership between the departments of Architecture and Industrial Design, teams of students designed and prototyped some working atmospheric water generators (AWG), and some tall buildings that the AWGs were designed to be a part of. Building on the United Nations’ recognition of water as a human right and UN Sustainable Development Goals, the studio responded to global challenges of water scarcity caused by climate change, drought, and declining freshwater resources.
The Oasis project evolved through multiple iterations, beginning with an exploration of minimalist form inspired by Bird in Space by Constantin Brâncuși. Early studies examined reductive geometries and structural clarity, leading to the development of a buttressed core system organized through triangular patterns. This strategy provided internal stability while enabling the emergence of more organic, expressive forms. The triangular logic, influenced by rhizomatic networks, established a framework in which concentrated structural systems support a larger whole. This approach informed both the tower’s organization and its capacity to integrate atmospheric water harvesting, storage, and purification.
As the design progressed, the project increasingly drew from natural systems and life forms adapted to arid climates. The fog-basking Onymacris unguicularis, the Saguaro cactus, and termite mounds that regulate airflow through chimney-like formations informed strategies for capturing wind and creating optimal conditions for water harvesting. These biological precedents were complemented by mechanical inspiration, particularly the finned structure of a motorcycle radiator, which efficiently channels air to regulate temperature. Together, these influences shaped a system in which wind moves passively through and around the tower’s surfaces, maximizing exposure of the atmospheric water generators without requiring active redirection of airflow.
Formal experimentation through sketch models led to a refinement of both structure and spatial organization. The tower ultimately developed as a kit of parts: a set of cores and a series of horizontal floor plates that extend outward to support urban farming, increasing surface area and enhancing environmental performance. While early iterations explored multiple cores, the system was simplified to emphasize clarity and efficiency. A continuous skin wraps the structure, guiding air, protecting occupants, and acting as both environmental mediator and secondary structural layer. This skin forms tunnels, programmable spaces, and surfaces for water absorption and release, while also producing moments of accumulation, called osases, distributed throughout the tall building.
Large facade mock-up; working AWG prototype; section drawing; detail drawing
These oases introduce a perceptual dimension to the project. As water gathers and interacts with light and surface, the tower begins to read as a floating form. At the base, where the skin lifts to reveal exposed floor plates, reflective surfaces create mirage-like effects, blurring the boundary between structure and site. The tower is further embedded within its site through subtle manipulations of topography, shaping entry points and creating sheltered outdoor environments.
Ultimately, the project operates as a layered system: a structural kit of parts, an environmental skin, and a responsive part of a broader ecosystem. It seeks to reconcile natural intelligence with deliberate design, producing a tower that is at once infrastructural and atmospheric, a highly ordered yet seemingly organic hub for human comfort within an arid landscape.
Making hygroscopic biocomposites; final studio exhibition
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