In ancient Roman architecture, the impluvium was a water-catchment system to capture rainwater falling from the compluvium of the roof. It was usually made of marble and placed about 30 cm below the floor of the atrium and emptied into a sunken cistern.
Grounded on this architectural tradition revisited through contemporary technologies and material tradition, Impluvium Redux lends itself to operate as a prototypical flexible module that can be deployed onto any pre-existing urban rooftop or public area.
The modular system comprises hollow ceramic pieces acting as structural columns, and water collectors, a modular floor elevated on pedestals, and a lightweight folded structure and waterproof membrane that opens and closes to capture and clean rainwater through its folded surface.
The water management system, as proposed, works to shade and alleviate the heat island effect, flooding and drought through storage, as well as release and reduce runoff by harvesting water.
The materiality of the modular ceramic columns and floor provides energy-saving cooling benefits.
The resulting prototype integrates structural and material strategies to optimize construction aspects related to transportation, assembly, and disassembly of building components, and thermodynamic principles related to heattransfer and water cycles while helping to foster a sense of community, ecology, and healthy environments for social interaction.
