How a Desert Beetle Inspired Rain-Harvesting Walls in Cape Town

How a Desert Beetle Inspired Rain-Harvesting Walls

A desert beetle inspired a South African designer’s rain-harvesting facade panels. See how Aquatecture works and why it is not market-ready.

Before dawn in the Namib Desert, a small darkling beetle climbs a dune, faces the fog-laden breeze and tilts its body, letting droplets gather on its wings and run towards its mouth. For South African designer Shaakira Jassat, that survival trick suggested a new question: could the surfaces of buildings collect water too?

Her answer is Aquatecture Water Harvesting, a system of modular panels fixed to building facades that catch rainwater and channel it into storage. IOL reports that a pilot in Cape Town is working, but that the idea is not yet ready for the market.

Key facts

Aquatecture uses modular facade panels, gutters and a storage tank, with water moving by gravity.
Its long-term aim is water for non-potable uses such as flushing toilets and washing machines.
A pilot was installed at a parking garage near the V&A Waterfront, opposite the Oranjezicht Farmers' Market.
Jassat says it is too early to claim measurable impact at full scale.

How the system works

The idea began when Jassat watched rain run down bricks opposite her home. Conventional rainwater harvesting relies on roofs and gutters. Aquatecture uses facades, which she sees as a chance for high-rise buildings and other structures with large vertical surfaces. Water flows through the panels into a tank, and removable gutter sections allow cleaning. She wanted the system to be woven into architecture itself: "I wanted something that was really integrated in the language of architecture."

How a Desert Beetle Inspired Rain-Harvesting Walls

Research and the pilot

Jassat explored fog harvesting and moisture-harvesting technologies, including work with the engineering department at Eindhoven University of Technology. A semester-long student study found that collecting water vapour on panels could work in South Africa, but not at a level sufficient to support the entire concept. Rainwater proved more practical.

In 2021, ten University of Cape Town students from Engineers Without Borders, across disciplines including geomatics, humanities, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering, were selected to assess the pilot. They visited regularly to monitor the tank's water level and rainfall. A JoJo-sponsored tank filled with harvested rainwater, and the water was used to irrigate shrubbery at the nearby Oranjezicht Farmers' Market.

The pilot also showed how hard it is to predict how much water a system can collect. Wind made forecasting more complex, because it changes the relationship between rainfall and collection. Researchers also examined the carbon embodied in the materials used, working with suppliers and transport companies because local data was limited.

How a Desert Beetle Inspired Rain-Harvesting Walls

The hard part: turning interest into buildings

The design has been shown at Dutch Design Week and other exhibitions, but Jassat says attention has not turned into practical use. She says the difficulty comes when interest must become investment, manufacturing and construction. She wants the panels made as locally as possible. An architect in Kenya showed interest, but Kenyan producers could not manufacture the system, so she is looking at options in South Africa, elsewhere in Africa, India and China.

Funding is another obstacle. Jassat has largely financed development herself, apart from support for pilots. A Johannesburg developer showed interest but questioned whether clients would pay.

What the experts say

Someleze Mbele, who worked on the field research, said affordability depends heavily on materials, manufacturing and local sourcing. Panels must withstand weather, UV exposure, corrosion and damage, and systems must be easy to clean to prevent blockages. He said such systems should complement, not replace, municipal infrastructure by adding resilience and reducing pressure on centralised supplies.

Dr Ferrial Adam, executive director of WaterCan, said the wider challenge is designing buildings that use less water, rather than only finding extra supply. She argued for reusing water inside buildings, such as using handwashing water to fill toilet cisterns, and for bringing such approaches to poorer communities.

How a Desert Beetle Inspired Rain-Harvesting Walls

What this means for you

Water security is a growing concern. With a hotter, drier summer forecast, ideas that reduce pressure on municipal water are likely to get more attention. Right now, Aquatecture is a pilot, not a product you can buy.

Simple steps work today. Rainwater tanks and reusing grey water are options for homeowners, and both are cheaper than new technology.

What happens next

Jassat is working on materials, manufacturing, funding and partnerships.
For her, success means the system collecting water and flushing toilets in real buildings.