Splashing Split

One of the unique characters of Split, Croatia, is that the water culture is intertwined with the urban infrastructure. The ancient aqueduct brings the water into the city since the Roman era while the water cisterns store the rainwater for community and domestic uses. In the contemporary context, the visible street gutter is designed as part of the city.

The water culture is embedded in everyday’s life of Croatian for centuries. Roman bath is not just a public bath, but also the social activities bringing people together. The line drying at the terrace is another evidence of water activities at every corner in Split.

The water tower is proposed concerning the drought vulnerability and the freshwater accessibility on the worldwide scale altogether with the cultural and infrastructural aspects. The sexy curvy tower would insert in-between 4-meter wide vertical circulation juxtaposed with the brutalist mixed-use building.

In search of the form, an organic shape would be the best fit since the water has no static form. The harvesting and filtration process mainly has three parts: (1) water harvesting from the roof to the tower, (2) filtration process from 1000 to 10 microns, and (3) UV disinfection process to inactivate microorganisms. Each of water activities is attached to the filtration core process starting from non-contact to the drinking fountain. Cultural notions of water binds to the infrastructure. Furthermore, in the dry season, these public platforms could turn into the communal living room for residents and the public.

This project, in the end, would not serve only as a new source of freshwater but also bring the happy water moment back to Split and celebrate the presence of water as part of Croatian life.