-By Adam Figman

As far as most people are concerned, skyscrapers serve two purposes: to hold offices and to make city skylines look nice. Well, we might be able to add sustainable design to that list. The latest emerging innovation encompasses skyscrapers being used to fix water problems to create sustainable environments around the world.

One concept is the Ciliwung Recovery Project (CRP), designed by Rezza Rahdian, Erwin Setiawan, Ayu Diah Shanti, and Leonardus Chrisnantyo for Jakarta, Indonesia, a city built on the intersection of 13 rivers. The CRP hopes to purify the river and its surrounding environment back to its original state. It will do so by both purifying the water, and housing the people who occupy the area’s slums. Additionally, plans for another water-filtering skyscraper in Almeria, Spain have been drawn up. Designed by French-based group Design Crew for Architecture (partners: Nicolas Chausson, Gael Desveaux, Jiso Yang Huang, Thomas Julien), the Freshwater Factory Skyscraper will function as its name insists. Although it might look like something out of a sci-fi flick (think District 9 or Independence Day), the Freshwater Factory may revolutionize farming’s relationship with freshwater...

>> Continue reading at TalkContract.com for more on water-filtering skyscapers