Concept
Living in a sustainable way is a concept that mainly concerns energy. We are committed to ensuring that this concept is extended to a topic of vital importance such as water. So approaching a model of sustainable building is our goal. Many technologies on the production of water from alternative sources have been tested over the years, technologies that for the first time in history have merged with architecture, aiming to lower the water footprint of buildings in order to give voice to a theme which needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The project starts from an existing building located in Turin that has been converted into a university residence emphasizing it in its heart by creating integrated systems for the production and recovery of water in order to start a tendency towards awareness of the importance of every form of resource. The aim of the project is also to educate and share its inhabitants, giving the possibility to monitor at any time all the water produced and recovered from the building and especially that consumed by each individual user to allow each resident to feel part of active in a larger community in constant development, also inspiring future generations.
The building was designed with the aim of recovering water from every available source. The system conveys the meteoric waters, both of the shed roofing and of the cover of the L-shaped sleeve in special collection tanks where the water collected by the tree clouds also flows. The collection tanks are only connected together so as to balance the water level. The water collected inside the tanks is connected to a storage tank where it passes through an active carbon filter that removes 99.999999% of bacteria and 99.999% of parasites and 99.999% of microplastics. Once the water is filtered it is connected to 2 pumps that put the water into circulation inside the building to be used.
For those who have never been to Turin it is difficult to understand but in this city there are numerous fountains all the same with a bull's head above them, in fact they are named Toretti or better in Piedmontese Toret [tʊ’rɛt]. These fountains are many, more than 800 scattered throughout the city that quench thirst for passers-by and tourists. Their history is long, in fact they date back to the mid-1800s. Why am I talking about Toretti? They are a symbol of the city as is the Mole Antoneliana or the more recent Grattacielo San Paolo or how it will be tomorrow maybe the project of this thesis. The initial idea of this project was not only to make a building water-soluble but to be able to produce so much water to share it with the city community. This project does not reach much but in my dreams, in the convictions that have brought me here Yes. I will tell you all this because even if concretely today it is not possible because of the quantity of water produced, for all the certifications that make that water at least on non-potable paper, I wanted to include a teretto in the square in front of the main entrance of this project, a toretto revisited in form, and in function as a symbol of hope and progress. The toretto in question will always quench the passers-by but only if the nose is touched with the palm of the hand having a touch surface, so as not to waste even a drop of water. One thing I did not tell you is that all toretti are green, but this will be blue to distinguish it from others, to understand that the water that flows from it has no environmental impact whatsoever and that by drinking that water the planet does not will suffer.