To deal with the lack of fresh water in Dubai and other Arabian nations, Italian architectural firm Studiomobile created the Seawater Vertical Farm to cool and humidify greenhouses. This innovative concept produces adequate humidity to convert seawater into fresh water, necessary for irrigation.

Here’s how it works:

The air going into the greenhouse is first cooled and humidified by seawater, which is trickled over the first evaporator. This provides a fresh and humid climate for the crops.

As the air leaves the growing area it passes through the second evaporator which has seawater flowing over it. During this phase, humid air runs into the warm dry air of the ceiling. This makes the air much hotter and more humid.

The warm and humid air condense when in contact with plastic tubes that are pumped with cool sea water in the central chimney. Drops of fresh water appear on the surface of the condenser, ready to be collected in a tank and used to water the crops.