Lima, Peru, has the unfortunate distinction of being the second largest capital in the world located in a desert. It rarely rains there, and many of the residents are forced to get their water from dirty wells. But on the flipside, the humidity also hovers around 98 per cent, so the local University of Engineering and Technology designed a clever billboard that’s able to harvest the moisture in the air and turn it into potable water.
The university teamed up with Mayo DraftFCB to create the billboard, because after all, who has more expertise with designing a giant sign than an ad agency?
A series of five tanks located at the top of the tower can store up to 96 litres of water at any given time, and the liquid reserves are accessible from a single faucet located at the base of the billboard. And because it’s being pulled directly from the air and further processed by a filtration system, the water is guaranteed to be clean enough for drinking all year round. [UTEC via PSFK]