Monday, April 23, 2007

Zaragoza Expo 2008 Noria: Europe's highest Water Wheel

First, what is a noria. It is a water powered machine… the wheel is turned by the impact of water on paddles …the compartments discharge into an aqueduct….but also to produce power…

Second, this is big, really big…around 5 floors building high and will provide 45 litres a second to irrigate the Expo Zaragoza 2008 area. Estimated price is 439.000 euros.

The structure will be built by Syrian experts from Hamma, the world wide known “Water Wheels city”. Inauguration will be on the 22nd March 2008, World day for water http://www.worldwaterday.org/

Pd. Another wheel, the JAMA Wonder Wheel Pavilion -sponsored by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association- was shown at Expo 2005 www.expo2005.or.jp/en/venue/ pavilion_private_c.html and presented the relationship between cars and society, lifestyle and culture...

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Expo Zaragoza 2008 features extravagant "Botijo" building

...a "botijo” is the best place to keep cool water & funniest way to drink it :)
It is also the nickname of the Citizens’ Initiatives Pavilion building that NGOs such as WWF, Red Cross, Oxfam, etc are preparing for the Expo Zaragoza in 2008.
Ricardo Higueras, the architect responsible for the pavilion explains that domes are very old. In this case it is a concentric dome. The shape chosen comes from the ceramic water jug, from which it takes the temperature regulation system. Have you ever been in a building made of mud?

The building (see above) has a budget of 1.8 million euros...quite expensive for a mud building...is designed to last for three months as it is in a floodable zone...nothing is eternal…

Pd. According to Aminata Traore co-founder of the Social Africa Forum is fake than in Africa there is no water. Water exits and if it is being said that is a scarce resource in Africa is because (they) want to sell it...