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Fog Garden

CAE1118

Summary Note

This archive contains models, CAD drawings, videos, slides, field research journals, press materials, workshop materials, research materials, and reports related to the design for a large-scale complex of dew collecting structures in the Atacama Desert by architect Rodrigo Pérez de Arce and his students from La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note: Pilar Cereceda
Pilar Cereceda, a geographer and the Founding Director of the Atacama Desert Center at the Catholic University Santiago, is an expert on arid and semiarid areas, water collection, fog, acid rain, and their hydrography and water resources. She has written a dozen books on the geography of Chile and hundreds of articles for scientific journals and conference proceedings in Chile and abroad. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Action Program to Combat Desertification (PANCD) and Desertification UNDP programs, and has been a consultant to the United Nations Environment Programme. In addition, Cereceda is a member of the editorial board of Geocarto International, Atmospheric Research, and the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences. Biographical Note: Rodrigo Perez de Arce
Rodrigo Pérez de Arce is a professor at Catholic University Santiago in Chile where he also runs his own architecture practice. He started his private practice in England, taught at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and then the University of Bath, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University. Pérez de Arce is a member of the interdisciplinary team for Arid Zone studies at the Atacama Desert Centre, where he helped develop a master plan and the design of the Fog Garden installations at Alto Patache in Northern Chile. He is currently refurbishing a public market in Valparaiso, a World Heritage Site, and is researching the subject of play as generator of architectural and urban form.

Scope and Content

People have been using dew from fog as a source of drinking water for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that scientists in Chile, South Africa, and elsewhere began measuring the moisture content of clouds and designing structures to collect it. During the last five years, several groups of architects and their students have been testing models for fog collectors on the coastal rides of Alto Patache in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The Atacama is a place where it has not rained in recorded history, and fog is the only source of fresh water for coastal villages that is not otherwise trucked or piped in from the interior of the country. The Alto Patache coastal fog oasis is a state protected area due to its rich biodiversity. It is located south of Iquique, Northern Chile, and is administered by the Atacama Desert Center (ADC) of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. On 2007, the Chilean Government bestowed a land stretch covering 1,114.5 hectares to ADC for scientific research, ecosystem protection and environmental education. This oasis has been studied since 1997 from different aspects like climate, fog collection, geomorphology, soil survey, biogeography, flora and fauna distribution, conservation, history and archaeology.

Working with the not-for-profit Atacama Desert Center, which is directed by geographer Pilar Cereceda, architect Rodrigo Pérez de Arce and his students from La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile are now overseeing the creation of models for a large-scale complex of dew collecting structures, The Fog Garden, that would collect enough water to both support a garden and satisfy the needs of a nearby village. This archive is equally important to artists, architects, and scientists.

Materials include models, CAD drawings, digital images of Rodrigo Perez de Arce’s journal, videos, Powerpoint presentation, slides, field research journals, press materials, workshop materials, research materials, and reports.

Arrangement

Fog Garden is organized into three series by subject: Series 1 includes reports and field notebooks. Series 2 includes slides, models, CAD drawings, and videos. Series 3 contains extensive printed press materials and videos.
  • Series 1: Research and Data
  • Series 2: Visual Materials
  • Series 3: Press

Inclusive Dates

1980-2011

Bulk Dates

1980-2011

Quantity / Extent

1 cubic feet

Language

Spanish, Arabic, English, French, Italian, and Nepali

Container Listing by Series:

CAE1118/1 Series 1: Research and Data, 1981-2002

Series 1 includes published reports and data as well as field notebooks.

  • CAE Box 92

    • 1-1 General Information, 1997
    • 1-2 Reports, 1981
    • 1-3 Reports, 1982
    • 1-4 Reports, 1989
    • 1-5 Reports, 1991
    • 1-6 Field Notebooks, 1991-undated
    • 1-7 Field Notebooks, 1991-1992
    • 1-8 Reports, 1993
    • 1-9 Field Notebooks, 1993
    • 1-10 Reports, 1994
    • 1-11 Reports (1 of 2), 1995
    • 1-12 Reports (2 of 2), 1995
    • 1-13 Field Notebooks, 1994-1995
    • 1-14 Reports (1 of 2), 1996
    • 1-15 Reports (2 of 2), 1996
    • 1-16 Field Notebooks, 1995-1996
    • 1-17 Reports, 1997
    • 1-18 Reports, 1998
    • 1-19 Reports, 1999
    • 1-20 Field Notebooks, 2002

CAE1118/2 Series 2: Visual Materials, 1980-2011

Series 2 contains the visual materials generated from the project including models, sketches, slides, videos, and CAD drawings.

  • CAE Box 92

    • 2-1 Fog Catcher Technical CAD Drawings, 1980-2011
    • 2-2 Project Sketches by Rodrigo Perez de Arce, Not dated
    • 2-3 Project Slides, 1980-1997
    • 2-4 Project and Other Related Videos, 1992-2011
    • 2-5 Project Models, 2011

Additional Materials

  • CAE Box 34 Large Objects

    • 2-5#6 Fog Catcher Model, 2011 model is contained in two separate archival boxes

  • CAE Flat File F7 Oversized Items

    • 2-2#4 Acantilado (Cliff), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#5 Cabina (Cabin), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#6 Caleta (Cove), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#7 Cancha (Field), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#8 Dunas y Cumbres (Dunes and Summits), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#9 Guaneras (Guano), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#10 Paleo Escurrimientos (Paleo Runoff), Sketch, not dated
    • 2-2#11 Quebrada (Ravine), Sketch, not dated

  • CAE Flat File F26 Oversized Items

    • 2-1#1 Jardin de Niebla (Fog Garden), CAD Drawings pgs. 1-25, 2011

  • Offsite Storage

    • 2-5#1 Fog Catcher Model #1, 2011
    • 2-5#2 Fog Catcher Model #2, 2011
    • 2-5#3 Fog Catcher Model #3, 2011
    • 2-5#4 Fog Catcher Model #4, 2011
    • 2-5#5 Fog Catcher Model #5, 2011

CAE1118/3 Series 3: Press Materials, 1980-2009

Series 3 contains press materials, both printed and video, that are organized by date.

  • CAE Box 92

    • 3-1 Press 1981, 1981
    • 3-2 Press 1982, 1982
    • 3-3 Press 1983, 1983
    • 3-4 Press 1986, 1986
    • 3-5 Press 1988, 1988
    • 3-6 Press 1989, 1989
    • 3-7 Press 1990, 1990
    • 3-8 Press 1991, 1991
    • 3-9 Press 1992, 1992
    • 3-10 Press 1993, 1993
    • 3-11 Press 1994, 1994
    • 3-12 Press 1995, 1995
    • 3-13 Press 1996, 1996
    • 3-14 Press 1997, 1997
    • 3-15 Press 1998, 1998
    • 3-16 Press 1999, 1999
    • 3-17 Press 2000, 2000
    • 3-18 Press 2003, 2003
    • 3-19 Press 2004, 2004
    • 3-20 Press 2005, 2005
    • 3-21 Press 2009, 2009
    • 3-22 Press (not dated), Not dated