Decades of poor rainfall and water management have made water scarcity a very real problem for the people of Iran. While the government is quick to blame climate change and recurrent droughts for the country’s acute water shortage problem, the truth remains that millions of its people are currently residing without proper access to this valuable resource. To that end, Iran-based firm BMDesign Studios has come up with an innovative solution, which they are calling the Concave Roof.

Envisioned as a roof-mounted system for houses and other buildings, it works by collecting and storing rainwater, while also facilitating natural cooling. According to the team, the ingenious structure is designed primarily for arid regions where annual precipitation is generally very low. Added to that is the problem of high temperatures, which often cause rainwater to evaporate faster than it is actually harvested.

The new rainwater harvesting system is based on a two-roof design, featuring a bowl-shaped catchment area that in turn lies inside an enormous domed roof. According to the developers, placing a concave structure atop a convex roof actually helps bring down the building’s temperature, as a result of increased shade as well as wind movement between them. Speaking about the aim of the project, one of the architects at BMDesign said:

… [to] help [make] even the smallest quantities of rain [flow down] the roof and eventually coalesce into bigger drops, just right for harvesting before they evaporate.

The catchment area is angled such that it allows rainwater to accumulate at the center, from where it goes into the reservoirs for storage. To further lower indoor temperatures, the reservoirs are actually integrated within the dwelling’s walls. As pointed out by the designers, every 923 square meters of the Concave Roof can collect up to 28 cubic meters of rainwater. For better wind circulation, the homes could be slightly sunken and, even arranged around atrium.

Source: BMDesign Studios