Client:
SiciliaMia
Professional work Internship
Sep-May 2024/25
Water management landscape design
An entirely off-grid and closed loop system.
Sicily has a water shortage problem
As the climate is changing and ground water reservoirs are rapidly decreasing. It is becoming increasingly difficult to do farming because of it, and let alone run a luxury truism business as the collaborator SiciliaMia is building.
In collaboration with Muhammad Ameen Keryo, a pioneer within wastewater treatment I developed a plan included water catchment, filtration, storage and solid waste management on site. An entirely off-grid and closed loop system to help recharge the ground water of where the luxury tourism farm is to be built.
Rainwater harvest
Primary filtration
Principle structure
An entirely off-grid and closed loop system
to help recharge the groundwater.
Secondary filtration
(Septic tank/ Baffle reactor)
UV/ chemical treatment
Constructed wetland
(Pollutant filtration)
Irrigation
Sludge/ Solids drying bed
Compost/ Ferteliser
Main design challange
Combining Luxury with nature based solutions
Luxury clients are likely not going to accept a composting toilet. It was important to integrate solutions that break the association between nature based solution and primitive/lesser than.
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Zone analysis
Avoiding disturbing the guests
Zone analysis is a permaculture design tool used to identify where the guest would mostly be where (Zone 0-1) in relation to less visited areas (zone 3-5) to place the water filtration and waste management elements.
With the help of Zone anysis and on-site observation, we were able to place the elements in a way to respect the already existing elements of the land whilst also not disturbing the guests.
Observation
Digital tools combined with on-site observations
By numerous field visits on-site, and a highly accurate terrain model combined with a render layout of the site as it will become, we were able to place the elements in a way to respect the already existing elements of the land whilst also making sure the water circulation system was not imposing on the luxury experience.
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Top view
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View of Waste management system from the ground
Before the plan could take shape
1. Aerial survaying
2. Processing Drone footage and RTK data into a presice pointcloude
3. Digital terrain model
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4. Populating the 3D model with assets and landscaping plan
To be able to more accurately evaluate the slope of the terrain, and hence the flow of water, a terrain model was created using aerial survaying technology.
Implementation of test field
Implementing swales and cover-crops to increase water infiltration to recharge groundwater and irrigate crops
Together with the team at SiciliaMia and two external permaculture consultants, a test field with swales and cover crops was established as research to later be implemented on the site.
Due to difficulties with machine acess, only one swale was completed as it had to be dug manually. However, the cover-crops were implemented successfully, and early results indicate significantly higher water retention compared to the adjacent fields.
Tools used
Waypointmap.com
Collaboration
