As the global population grows, so too do the demands for water – for drinking, sanitation and energy production in the built environment, among many other uses. At the same time, human activity and climate change are disrupting natural water cycles, putting freshwater ecosystems under pressure. Pollution, infrastructure development and resource extraction pose additional challenges. 

We cannot afford to be careless with this vital resource. Water resources are being stretched by population growth, rising living standards, industrial development and urbanization.  

Yale CEA is investigating a diverse range of ecosystemic water management strategies. At the building scale, we are exploring means of effectively interfacing the ambient availability of incident solar and water resources on the building facade, with the potential to activate building envelope surfaces for water capture, reclamation, and treatment. 

By incorporating renewable energy-driven water capture and treatment processes into the building envelope, these systems present a highly localized integration of water cycles into the built environment, removing the need for extensive infrastructure.