Clouds, Vortices & Plumes

^{International Competition: Land Art Generator Initiative
Related: Exothermic Landscapes}



The project delights in the abundance of two natural resources on the desert coastal Abu Dhabi site: sunlight and saltwater. Heliotropic sun-tracking mirrors organised in radial arrays focus light on solar power towers, generating renewable energy for local residents. Pools form where the radial geometries overlap. Desalination pavilions at these pools generate clean and highly saline byproduct. Clean water fills wading pools for recreational use on site, providing evaporative cooling. Saline water fills salt ponds, where halophytic organisms thrive, creating shifting plume paintings in the landscape. Salt crystals collect and grow on sculptural towers in the saline ponds.




board 1 _ sun, water, salt, energy: adjacencies and exchanges




board 2 _ summer solstice heliotrope array



board 3_ salt crystal growth towers



board 4_ heliotrope field and desalination ponds