Patterns of Flow: The Spatial Dimension of Water in the Desert

Abstract

The richness of the architecture for water in the desert emerges from a shortage of water that traditionally gave rise to ingenuous techniques to capture and store rainwater, and replenish, and source ground water. Each drop was precious. People used water in their daily chores judiciously. This paper will demonstrate that the spatial expression of water was closely interwoven in the lives of people through the making and practice. The artifacts are not isolated entities, but are rooted within living societies, shaped by the natural environment and active participants of spatial urban structures, contributing to an ecosystem that sustains life in the harsh climate.

The study emerges from a concern about how we “view and perceive” our resources. Modern infrastructure for water, being hidden from view and dissociated from experience, has erased from our urban sensibilities the connection with water and the environment. The components that bring water have been converted into monofunctional infrastructure. They perform a singular task unlike the historic water bodies that were multifunctional. The erasing from public memory, the spatiality of water, has taken away fundamental relationships of society, environment, and technology. To balance the homogenizing and monocultural trends of the contemporary world, this paper will contribute to make available the knowledge of the historic water system to initiate a productive dialogue toward an urban regeneration that is ecological.