Flock of Wings | 2015-Present

"a flock of wings as fog harvesters"

An in-progress proposal for a sculptural installation of fog harvesters rendered as stainless steel wings. The design is inspired by an ancient technique of collecting water, supported by current research from labs at MIT, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Monterey.

Fog can be collected by polypropylene-mesh fabric or metal mesh that faces the wind like tiny perforated sails. Mesh-based fog collectors rely on gravity to passively drive water droplets into a collection chamber. As the wind blows precipitation through the device, dew droplets accumulate on the mesh and drop down into a trough, from which they flow to the final container. This collection method produces what is generally the cleanest water for drinking and irrigation.