Jacob Russo (B.Arch ’14) Member of Team NexLoop Awarded 2017 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize

NexLoop is developing the AquaWeb, a modular, biomimetic, all-in-one water sourcing and management system to help urban food producers collect, filter, store, and distribute atmospheric water.

The AquaWeb emulates the hexagonal nest cell structure of the dwarf honey bee (Apis florea) to increase the strength of the modular system and reduce the amount of material needed to produce a robust and efficient structure.

The AquaWeb mimics the water capture and directional water transport principles seen in the silk webs of the cribellate orb weaver spider (Uloborus walckenaerius) to direct water from the water capture membrane to the water storage system.

The AquaWeb's decentralized storage strategy is inspired by the epidermal bladder cells of the crystalline ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum). The bladder cell network is an excellent example of distributed water storage that builds resiliency into the system through redundancy.

The design of the water distribution strategy in the AquaWeb system mimics the apoplastic water pathway seen in the rhizomorph cells of the Jersey cow mushroom (Suillus bovinus) by integrating water flow channels into the walls of the modular units.

The AquaWeb module is a multifunctional biomimetic system to integrate water capture, filtration, storage and distribution into food production building envelopes such as greenhouses and container farms.

NexLoop, an international team with members Jacob Russo (B.Arch ’14), Anamarija Frankic, and C. Mike Lindsey, won the 2017 $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize® for their AquaWeb innovation. The Grand Prize was awarded at the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, California, in October 2017.

Each year 5-10 finalists in the Open Category of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge are invited to participate in the Biomimicry Accelerator program. Designed to help biomimetic solutions advance beyond the concept stage, the Biomimicry Accelerator is an intensive year-long program during which teams continue to develop their design concepts and market strategy utilizing business training, mentorship, and legal support provided by the Institute and its partners. At the end of each Accelerator, one team is awarded the $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize, endowed by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation.

Team NexLoop developed the AquaWeb to help urban local food producers collect, filter, store, and distribute atmospheric moisture with a modular, all-in-one water sourcing and management system. AquaWeb harnesses freely available rain and fog and uses passive strategies to distribute this water so that urban farms, including greenhouses, indoor vertical farms, and container farms, can save energy and become more resilient to disturbances. Each aspect of AquaWeb’s design was inspired by living systems. These include how cribellate orb weaver spider webs collect fog from the air, how drought-tolerant plants like the crystalline ice plant store water, and how mycorrhizal fungi like the Jersey cow mushroom distribute water. The team also looked to the dwarf honey bee’s hexagonal nest structure for AquaWeb’s efficient and modular design.