I can imagine a future dry Earth in which nature only exists inside huge buildings like this Freshwater Factory Skyscraper, designed by Design Crew for Architecture to produce freshwater from seawater on the south coast of Spain.

Here’s how it works: The brackish water – a sightly desalinated water – is pumped into the self-sufficient structure using tide-powered pumps. Then, inside the spheres, mangrove trees feed on that water, transforming it and exuding freshwater that evaporates. This water vapour is collected for human consumption by an internal pipe system.

The result: This building can produce 30,000 litres of freshwater per day. The design won an honourable mention at the [Evolo via Inhabitat]